


To Rise From Ashes

by VenusdeMilotic



Category: Dark Souls III
Genre: BDSM, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Impregnation, Love, Masturbation, My First Smut, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Posting schedule is wack but I will finish this series, Romance, Self-Insert, Sexual Assault, Significant other, Slow Burn, Some plot divergences but it’s good for the sake of the story, Suicide Attempt, Violence, the world needs more Leonhard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-02-29 13:45:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18779476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenusdeMilotic/pseuds/VenusdeMilotic
Summary: The Chosen Undead, a cleric by the name of Chelsea, is reborn as Unkindled Ash to link the fire once more. Still mourning the death of her previous lover, a fellow Warrior of Sunlight, Solaire of Astora, she sets out to fulfill her duty as quickly and efficiently as possible, but a certain Finger decides to weave his way into her priorities as well as into her heart.Amidst finding the will to love once again, she slowly realizes that the world as she knew it from her childhood and the beginning of the Age of the Gods is much different than she remembers it, that linking the fire instead of letting the Age of Man run it’s course has its consequences, and that not all Ash who set out to link the fire are successful in their task.The fabric of time and space are coming together and falling apart all at once, and with a voice in her head to guide her to “save the world”, Chelsea will find out the truth of the world she is meant to save, what it means to actually save it, and how her relationship with the alluring, yet compassionate, Ringfinger determines the future of Lordran, and the many ages and civilizations that will follow after.





	1. Camaraderie

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic. I have a thing for Leonhard and I was disappointed to find that there wasn’t much to find on fans’ works on him. I designed my OC in-game to match everything my character in the story has. My writing isn’t the best, but I hope you like it.
> 
> If you want to follow me on some sort of social media, my user is thesoulsbornewaifu-official on Tumblr. I’ll post some pictures of Leonhard and my OC that I’m make my references on (I’ll try to find the artists name to some, but I made some of my own)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chosen Undead, now Unkindled Ash, is a bit rusty from being out of commission for many ages. After a long few days after being resurrected, and one particular restless night, she meets the man that will make her crave him in a way she thought she would never feel again in more ways she ever thought possible.

_Only in truth, the Lords will abandon their thrones, and the Unkindled will rise. Nameless accursed undead, unfit even to be cinder. And so it is that ash seeketh embers..._  

I shoved my Claymore into the belly of another Hollow as I reminisce on the voice that I heard when I was reborn. It’s been so long since I killed these damned things. I almost missed quenching my thirst for Hollow blood and spilling their organs all over the castle walls. But the high wall of this new place called Lothric had not been too keen on making my first visit very fun, and frankly, I was getting pissed.

And yet, I have done this before. I rose from the grave to link the fire again. As if the first time wasn’t enough. To think that I was here again, to be alive, would be considered a blessing. But not for me.

I had suffered enough during my first journey as the Chosen Undead. I’ve killed so many people and lost so many friends. I fought allies who I grew up with in Anor Londo. Back then, I linked the fire to finally rest peacefully, although the Primordial Serpent, Frampt, was saddened I chose not to stay behind with him and succeed Lord Gwyn. But what was the point of it all without _him...?_

So I’m here to link the fire in the place of the ones who chose to abandon their destiny, for whatever reason. I didn’t care. I just wanted to go back to sleeping peacefully within the spirit of the bonfire. It was dark...and warm. I didn’t have to think. My body and mind would rest as a piece of my soul joined with the other Lords in an entity known as the Soul of Cinder. I would be free from this curse...well, at least until the world needed me again.

 _Fuck that bullshit._ I reached for my Estus, thinking about how I absolutely _refused_ to do this shit again, no matter what fate or destiny had in store for me, to find that there wasn’t a drop left in it. _Fuck_. I had to find another bonfire, which would be easier if I didn’t have several open wounds, some of which were still bleeding out. I then reached for an Ember, a new form that Humanity, a fragment broken off of the Dark Soul that the Furtive Pygmy claimed, has taken in this age. I crushed it in my hand and wave of healing relief washed over me, wounds completely healed and dehydration instantly fading. The satisfaction didn’t last long as I remembered that this would have to last me until I find the bonfire. When I looked out into a corridor, a lone knight starting walking out from one of the castle towers, and his eyes looking directly in my direction.

 _Damn it_. This Ember wasn’t going to last at all.

——————

After the golden haze of the bonfire dissipated, I stood up and stomped over to the Firekeeper, cursing to myself. She looked up and saw me coming towards her, her mouth contorted in confusion. After stopping in front of her, I dug for the souls I collected so that I could strengthen myself, and she voiced her concern.

“Ashen One, what is the matter?”

I was still concentrating on getting the souls out of my pocket, my hands shaking more as I try fiddling through my inventory bag, and her voice snapped me out of my irritated endeavor. “Ashen One?”

“Huh?” I quickly looked up at her, and apparently the expression I gave her upon responding must have scared her because she squeaked like she just met a madman.

“You look terrible. What happened to you on your journey?”

I stood there for a good minute. The truth is, a lot happened. After the encounter I had with the Lothric Knight, I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to find the bonfire only to find it at the top of the tower I met him at.

I sighed and I looked up at the Firekeeper apologetically. “I’m sorry. Just...a lot happened and I honestly feel like I need a break. Maybe something to eat, too.”

  
The Firekeeper looked down and found a pouch on the ground in between us, and when she opened it, my souls fell into her hand. “I understand, Ashen One. The journey to find the Lords is a difficult one.” She then held my hands in her’s, and her blindfolded eyes met mine, comfort emanating from behind the silver crown. “But you are not alone on this journey. You have me to help you strengthen yourself, or just someone to talk to if you need it.” She gave me a warm smile, and I couldn’t help but return it.

“Thank you. I really needed that.” She giggled, and then she held her arms out. “Shall we use these souls then?” I nodded and knelt down in front of her, embracing my new, well-earned strength.

——————

After I finished my business with the Firekeeper and reinforced my Claymore, I walked up the stairs behind the thrones of the Lords of Cinder. I walked slowly past the first two, reading their engravings.

_Yhorm the Giant of the Profaned Capitol_

_The Watchers of the Abyss_

I’ve heard the stories after my first visit to the Shrine. Both suffered from unfortunate circumstances, with Yhorm losing someone close to him, the city that he swore to protect, and all hope with them, the _main reason_ he became a Lord to begin with, and the Abyss Watchers succumbing to the one thing they were fighting against, as all things do when exposed to the Abyss for too long, being locked in an eternal battle with themselves to fight off the corruption that plagued mankind since the dawn of time. Before I linked the fire the first time, I’ve heard the legends of Artorias, and how he was swallowed by the Abyss, but not before giving his own shield to protect Sif, his loyal grey wolf and companion. I then remembered having to fight them both before defeating the father of the Abyss, the source of the corruption, Manus.

I stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs behind the highest throne in the shrine. I leaned myself against my back before sliding down and collapsing on the floor. I stared up at the wall, lost in thought of all the things I’ve been through. I couldn’t help but feel sad for all the lives that were lost when Lord Gwyn first linked the fire. It wasn’t his fault; who wouldn’t be afraid of an age of total darkness? I found out a long time ago that the only thing separating man from god was immortality, and so I couldn’t blame him. Just like the first time I linked the fire and became a Lord of Cinder, I will set these souls free so they don’t have to suffer anymore within the hold of the Undead curse.

_Just like I set his soul free._

My body curled up more, legs hugging my chest as my mind drifted even further into my memories. Solaire, my fellow Warrior of Sunlight and deceased lover, suffered as well, not from Hollowing or losing someone, but losing himself to search for his very own sun. Even in my new life, I still blame myself for not insisting on staying with him in Lost Izalith.

I gripped my chest upon feeling a sharp pain. No matter how many times he said I wasn’t to blame, no matter how much I tried to convince myself that he meant it, my failure to save him still managed to come to the forefront of my mind.

 _Never again_ , I thought. I don’t want to get close to someone like that again. I just wanted to fulfill what I had to do here and go back to resting in peace as best as I can.

But for now, I must get some well-earned sleep before taking on such an endeavor.  
——————

An hour passed and my mind was still constantly going. I had stripped off my cleric’s robes to use them as makeshift bedding for comfort, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. I sat up in frustration, putting my head in my hands.

I couldn’t get the past out of my mind. It was always like this. Every time I’d close my eyes, I saw Solaire coming at me, ready to kill me. I remembered the look on his face. How it was him, but also not. He looked so lifeless. I heard his cries as I killed him, caused from the pain I inflicted. And the way he looked at me as he lied in my arms, his mind returning much too late, telling me not to blame myself, begging me to stop sobbing.

_There is no way I can get any sleep like this._

I leaned my head against the throne, contemplating my options. Running around the shrine didn’t help. Fighting more enemies would just piss me off more. I could ask the Firekeeper for remedies, but I didn’t want to bother her with such a trivial matter. I then looked in between my legs at my womanhood.

_Could that possibly work?_

Normally, I would have discarded such a heinous idea, but at this point I was willing to try anything to get those memories out of my mind. I stood up and quickly took off my garments to where I was completely naked and then I leaned my back against the throne. I gently trailed my fingers towards my sex and started to finger myself, my other hand teasing my nipples. _Gods, it’s been so long since I’ve felt this._

I then pulled my fingers out of my sex and started vigorously rubbing my clitoris, becoming drunk off the pleasure. I was already getting close. I started breathing heavy, and my moans were a bit louder as I reached my climax. _Fuck, I’m so close..._

“Well, now isn’t this a surprise?” I jumped at the sound of deep voice coming from my right as a man in a silver mask stepped out from the side of the throne. “A woman pleasuring herself behind a Lord’s throne. That is quite the scandalous act, don’t you think?”

I scrambled to get my cleric’s robes, my face flushed from the embarrassment of this unexpected encounter. I tried to put them back on, but he stops me and spoke again with a facetious tinge to his voice. “Oh, don’t stop on my account. I’ll move somewhere else if I need to.”

I look up at him, carefully keeping myself behind the throne while also keeping my distance. “Who are you? Why were you standing there?” He steps closer to me, and I step back, but only so little as I am coming into view to rest of the shrine. “My name is Leonhard. I am a covenant member of Rosaria’s Fingers looking to find more knights to serve my goddess’s cause.” He looks me in the eyes, at least I think he does since I can’t see his face. “And you are?”

I swallowed, “I’m Chelsea. I was resting here, but I couldn’t get to sleep.” He tilts his head to the side curiously.

“So you were masturbating in hopes to finally fall asleep. You must have been very desperate to do that in a rather public area for other Unkindled.”

“And what’s it to you?” I snapped. _Seriously, asshole, can I just put my damn clothes back on?_ He waves his hands in front of him and shakes his head. “Nothing, miss. I was just making an observation.”

“Well, if you’re done making observations, I’d like to get dressed and enjoy the rest of my night.” I bent down to grab the rest of my things, but then he walked closer, stopping me again. “Wait a second.”

“What now?” I glared at him, quickly losing my patience.

“Let me make up for interrupting you.”

“How so?”

He then stepped closer to me and he slowly takes my clothes in his hands. “I would like to help you finish, if you’d like.”

I stood there in bewilderment. I couldn’t believe what this guy was saying. “You’re kidding.” He shook his head. “Not at all. It wouldn’t sit well with me if I didn’t throw out the suggestion. Besides,” He then tilted my chin to meet his masked eyes, his face close to mine and his hard crotch pressed against my stomach, making my breath hitch slightly. “I would hate to see a beautiful woman’s orgasm go to waste.”

I looked down, trying to figure out what to do. This is exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen. Is it even right to fuck a man I just met? While I still mourned my past lover? My sex throbbed at his hard member and I winced softly from the ache. He was a scoundrel, for sure, but I was desperate to get off. His voice sounded heavenly and he made me feel hot and bothered from his touch. I hated how much I wanted him inside me.

“You’re not exactly giving me a choice, are you?” My eyes were still piercing daggers into his, but my voice was softer and my breathing heavy.

“Oh, you do have a choice. But from the way I see it, you don’t look as if you’re going to turn me down.” The man wrapped his hands around me, holding my ass firmly as he pressed himself into me. And it was that that caused me to finally give in. He was teasing me, and I just couldn’t help myself anymore. My body needed relief, regardless of it was coming from this dangerously looming and charismatic scoundrel. _Why am I so damn attracted to him?_

“Well,” I said softly, trying to stifle a moan, “Are you going to back up all that chatter you have going, or are you just all talk and no action?” He didn’t say anything at first. Instead, he swatted my ass and pulled my hair back, which finally made the moan I so helplessly tried to force down come out softly. Oh, he’s _that_ type of man.

“You have quite the mouth on you, don’t you, my dear girl? Challenge me all you like, but I’ll make you into a begging and screaming mess when I fuck you hard with my cock.” He released my hair and draped his coat over me. “Now be good and follow me. I’m sure you want privacy, although I ought to bend you over this throne right here and now.” Before I could protest, he wrapped his arm around my waist and hurried me over to the Great Tree outside of the shrine.

——————

“So this is where you want to do this?” I asked. I looked around the area, scouting for anyone. Luckily, we seemed to be alone.

“I figured you would want a nice, moonlit night to make love under. You definitely seem to be a woman with high standards.” He laid out my clerical robes on the ground, to which I assumed he was doing that so we didn’t get dirty. If it weren’t for the fact that he managed to get some spare clothing from fighting Hollows on his way over here, I would have settled for doing it outside against the Shrine walls. 

“Are you implying that you meet my standards?” I snorted.

“If I didn’t meet your standards, would you be here with me right now?” He replied. He was half-joking, but I could also tell that he was being serious. Was this guy really asking for consent? I shook my head.

“No, I don’t think I would.” I said softly.

“Well, that’s a relief. I can’t have you regret lying with me. That wouldn’t be any fun at all.” Again, that same sarcastic tone, but he was genuinely taking my feelings into account.

“Can we just get on with this?” I whined. I was not much of a complainer, but I was horny and exhausted, and as much as I hated to admit it, I really, _really_ wanted to see what this guy was made of.

He chuckled and pulled me towards him. “As you wish.” He caressed my face, and I could feel the warmth of his hand under the soft leather of his glove as he shifted his hands down my body. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he groped my breasts, plucking and kneading my nipples in between. He studied my face as my breathing began to become heavy again, my eyes unable to meet his. I was unable to see them, or the rest of his face, for that matter, as he didn’t remove his mask yet.

He kept up with his ministrations, my nipples now very sensitive to his touch. I was again becoming drunk from pleasure, even more so with someone else giving it to me, but I could tell he knew that I wasn’t completely submissive to him.

_No, I couldn’t be...not yet._

I felt vulnerable when he stared and I wanted a reason to hide away. I decided to reach up to take his mask off, to kiss him and hide my face, but instead of allowing me to, his hands shot up from my breasts and around my wrists, stopping me.

“Oh no, love. I can’t have you doing that.” He laughed softly.

“And why not?”

“Because what I say goes, little cleric.” He replied. “You need to remember who is in charge here, hm?” His voice was still full of amusement, but the new tension in his body made it clear: _Don’t take off the mask._

I tsked in response. “Fine,” I muttered. The grip on my wrists softened as his hands now slithered around my waist again. “Now would you like me to relieve you with this?” He pressed his crotch against me again, and I gasped softly. I could only imagine how it would feel inside me, and I wanted it to fill me completely.

“O-oh...yes,” I moaned, “Please give it to me.”

“Well, I can’t deny you further now, can I? Not after you’ve politely asked for it.” He stepped back a little and unstrapped his satchel from around his waist. He reached inside to produce a bit of rope and a roll of cloth, and tossed the satchel to the side.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d like to have you tied up so that I can have my way with you without an issue. But if anything I do hurts too much, you better tell me, understand?”

“Yes,” I replied, to which he responded with a harsh slap on my ass. “Yes... _sir_ ,” I yelped.

“Good girl,” He whispered, gently rubbing the reddened skin with his hand to soothe it. “But calling me ‘Leonhard’ will suffice.” He wrapped the blindfold around my eyes and then gently pushed me down. “On your knees, and put your hands behind your back.” I did as I was told and he wrapped the rope tightly around my wrists. I hissed at the slight burn of the rope against my skin, but the pain wasn’t overwhelming. If anything, it almost felt _good_.

“Too tight?” He must have taken note of my reaction, and now felt concern.

“No,” I said. He didn’t do anything in response, so I responded in the way he wanted me to, “No, Leonhard.” _Why do I feel so flustered from saying his name?_

“Good. Now relax for me.” He bent me over on my front, setting my head gently on the ground. He was kind enough to make sure my face wasn’t full of dirt and grass as he adjusted my robes underneath. Then he stood up and from the sounds of shuffling and slight clanking, I assumed he was getting undressed. He then knelt behind me and slid a finger along my folds. I groaned softly at his touch, feeling myself becoming more wet.

“Look at how ready you are for me. And here you were giving me a hard time at first.” He shifted to where his cock was positioned just outside of my sex. “I wonder if you could handle me...” Then he plunged himself inside me in one fluid motion, causing us both to tremble in response.

“Gods, you’re so tight!” I felt just as good as he did, my walls stretching and conforming to his huge cock. It fit perfectly inside me and I melted all around him.

He started fucking me deeply at a bruising pace, and I started groaning loudly from the brute force. He grabbed my hips with abandon of all humanity.

He fucked me particularly deeply and it hit my sensitive spot so well that I almost came then and there. I muffled something and he pulled me up to his face by my hair. “What was that, love?” He thrusted in again even harder and my mouth opened wide from the oh-so-sweet pounding. “Please fuck me more, Leonhard! I want you to make me your little slut!”

“Is that so?” He then wrapped his hand around my throat, choking me and the loss of air made me feel high. I felt dizzy and my body softly shuddered in response to his cock roughly kissing my cervix.

“Who do you belong to?” He growled in my ear.

 _Oh, fuck, I loved that voice_. “Leonhard,” I choked softly.

“Louder!” He released my throat and squeezed my breast, smacking my ass hard as I gasped for air, crying out from the sting.

“I belong to Leonhard!” I screamed. I didn’t care who heard me. I just wanted him to fuck me until I break!

“Do you want to cum?” He growled softly in my ear.

“Oh Gods, Leonhard, please! Let me cum! I’ll cum just for you!” Normally, I’d be humiliated at how pathetic I sounded, but he was undoing me from inside and out. I wanted him to wreck me. He licked my neck and kissed just below my ear and I shuddered from the sudden contact. _Oh, his mask is off too...?_

“Good girl,” He hums softly, and my toes curled from hearing the praise. He shoved his fingers past my lips and held my mouth open as he angled his hips more to where he was as deep as he can go, making my whimpering and moans come out louder as my sex squeezed hard at his cock, touching more of the bundled nerves inside it.

“Here’s your reward, Chelsea” He rasped out, saying my name for the first time, which caused my already racing heart to skip a few beats, “For being _my_ good little girl.” He groaned as he fucked me harder than before. I began screaming louder, the air is filled with our voices and lewd slapping of skin to skin. He keeps on fucking me, increasing the strength and speed of his thrusts until—!

Leonhard pulls me towards him again by my hair and turns my face to his and presses his lips hard against mine, groaning loudly as his hot seed spills inside me. The sensation of being filled brings me over the edge and I finally feel my sweet release, seeing stars and shattering all around him.

Leonhard pumps himself slowly in and out of me, milking himself dry, before standing up and taking a dagger to my skin and cutting the ropes binding me. I untie the blindfold and look in the direction of the man I just fucked. It was still so dark and he stood in the shadow of the tree, swiftly putting his clothes back on. I tried to make out his face in the moonlight, but he was silhouetted so well, I could barely make out the shape of his body.

“Your new robes are over there,” he pointed to a satchel on top of my old robes. “They should carry you until you find something better.” I shifted through the satchel and pulled out the robes. They were blue and embroidered with gold thread, as if it were something royal clerics, maybe even _deacons_ , would wear. I could only imagine where he got this from, but I didn’t dwell too much into the thought. I hastily put them on. I looked over at Leonhard, who had just put on his hunter’s cap. _Damn. I couldn’t get a look at his face after all._ He must be more shy than he cares to admit.

“So where do you plan on going?” I asked. He looked up as he straightened his collar. “I plan on staying here for a while. As I said before, I am looking for more knights to serve our covenant.”

“Care to tell me about your covenant?” I probably wasn’t going to join but I couldn’t help but be curious about it.

“We are called Rosaria’s Fingers,” he began, as he put his satchel around his waist. “We invade and pillage others to heighten our strength so we can protect our goddess.”

I frowned. I was never good at invasions. I could easily help others kill Lords or Heirs of Fire but fighting other Unkindled was never my strong suit. And yet, I wanted to try. Mostly because being a Warrior of Sunlight brought back some unpleasant memories, but also a small part of me wanted to impress the masked man, although I couldn’t explain why.

“Is it possible that I could get a trial run to see what I’m in for?”

Leonhard laughed softly before walking over to me. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a small pouch. I held out my hand and he placed it, his fingers lingering on mine for a short second.

“These are cracked red eye orbs. Use these to invade others. If you find yourself successful and receive a Pale Tongue from your victory, I’ll be here waiting to hear your decision.”

I opened the pouch and held one of the orbs in my hand. Nostalgia washed over me as I took a good look in what little lighting I had from the moon. I recognized these from the first time I was Undead. Would things have been different if I chose to invade instead of co-operating with other Unkindled?

Leonhard broke me out of my thoughts by taking my cheek in his hand. The contact startled me, but I relaxed just as quickly. “I must take my leave. I hope that you choose to join us. I would be most delighted to work with you.” He looked down my body, and drew back his hand. “And I would definitely love to claim your body again. It would be a lot easier if you were around me a lot more.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course there was some sort of ulterior motive. Instead of giving him the response he wanted, I replied, “I don’t see how that would work. You seem to be the type that likes working alone.”

“That is true. Rosaria’s Fingers are free to do whatever they like. We have no obligation for camaraderie.” He then brought his face close, the silver mask cold against my cheek as he whispered in my ear.

“But for you, I’d gladly make an exception.”

Before I could respond, Leonhard held a Homeward Bone in his hand and crushed it, and he was gone in an instant, presumably back to his covenant quarters. I picked up the robes on the ground, pleased with the fact that they weren’t very dirty. As I lay everything out inside the shrine, my thoughts drifted to him, and pondered how I felt about what we did. It didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would, perhaps because I didn’t feel anything except the pleasure of sex itself. As long as he didn’t get in my way of fulfilling my duty, I’d be alright with our little “camaraderie”, as he’d put it.

And yet...a part of me wanted more. Something inside me craved the attention he gave me, not wanting to be alone anymore.

 _Oh, how I wish I could have that_ , I thought. I shook my head and laid down on my makeshift bed again, and before I knew it, I was asleep. I don’t think I have ever slept this good in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Chelsea join the covenant? How will she handle having someone being affectionate with her all the time despite mourning her late companion? Only time will tell.
> 
> Some fighting and gore in the next chapter, as well as some wholesome moments and some gentle sex.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! This is my first time writing and I could use some pointers.


	2. Emergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chelsea agrees to join Rosaria’s Fingers and Leonhard helps her find the Red Eye Orb for convenience’s sake.
> 
> Bit of fluff and comfort, bit of gore, bit of smut...There’s a bit of everything in this chapter.

“You know, you were just a little too easy for me.”

The Curse-Rotted Greatwood, a giant tree-monster hybrid that hid well amongst civilians of the Undead Settlement in the corner of an abandoned church, had let out a huge groan as I slashed it’s third arm and crashed down and exploded into dust. I walked over to the glowing shimmer in the middle of the pit we crashed through in the middle of our fight and collected it’s soul as well as an item it had dropped.

“A Transposing Kiln, huh? And it says here that it’s from Courland? Maybe Lord Ludleth would know something about this.” Ludleth, who hailed from Courland, was one of my fellow Lords of Cinder to be risen from their graves in hopes to link the fire, and the only one to remain in his throne. He would have set out to bring the other Lords with him if he weren’t crippled. An injury from fighting something called the Soul of Cinder, he had said. The Soul of Cinder, from what I have heard, was an assemblage of every Lord of Cinder that had come to link the fire. If that were the case, I was partly to blame for his injury, albeit indirectly, from being the one to kill Lord Gwyn.

It’s been many ages since then.

I’m getting too old for this nonsense, I complained to myself. Even as an Undead, the idea of having “lived” for so long brought me a sense of insecurity. A woman is a woman, I suppose, and while I haven’t aged, it sure as hell felt like it. With that thought in mind, I placed my hand over the bonfire that appeared after killing the Greatwood, and returned to the Firelink Shrine.

——————

“Now this is a curious object, Ashen One,” Ludleth shifted the kiln in his hands as he tried to get a good look at the seemingly bottomless basin, “Allow me to see one of the souls of the Heirs of Fire.”

“Sure,” I reach into my inventory bag and pull out the soul I collected from defeating Vordt of the Boreal Valley. He was a difficult opponent and was able to use Frostbite, a new ailment I wasn’t familiar with until recently, to his advantage. After I had figured out it was basically Bleed, but faster and not as strong, I learned how to avoid it, made short work of the armored beast.

“With this, Ashen One, I can use the souls you obtained from the Heirs of Fire and create weapons that they have used.” Ludleth handed me a huge hammer with snowflakes falling from the head. It felt heavy in my hands, and I looked at with wonder before collapsing it into a soul and placing it in my weapons case. “Thank you, Ludleth.”

I turned around to drop towards the Firekeeper, but before I made my way down, Ludleth stopped me. “Before you go, I was told to relay a message. This came from a man in a silver mask.”

“Leonhard?” My voice subtly went up in octave in surprise, my heart rate increasing a little more. _Hush, you_ , my mind interjected quickly. Can’t believe I’m actually excited to hear about the man that deflowered me upon my new resurrection.

“Yes,” Ludleth continued, “He said that you should meet him by Holy King Lothric’s throne. He said it was something about the cracked red-eye orbs he gave you last time.”

“I’ll be sure to meet up with him then,” I did promise to give him an answer whether or not I would join the covenant he was a part of. _Rosaria’s Fingers, was it?_ I invaded upon a few Unkindled and found that I wasn’t too bad at it and I was able to grow exponentially with the souls I collected. I picked up a few items from them called a Pale Tongue, which I found to be rather odd and a bit disgusting to say the least. I had to wrap them in what was left of my old cleric’s robes so I didn’t risk getting the slime all over the other items in my inventory.

I dropped down and made my way to the other side of the Shrine to where another knight would sit, a crestfallen warrior named Hawkwood. I had chatted him up a few times here and there, and while he was a sardonic and depressed fellow, he had shown genuine interest in talking with me, especially about the different Lords. If I could take his mind off of whatever bothered him, then that was something to proud of. However, he wasn’t sitting where he usually was, and I wondered where he had run off to, but I didn’t worry too much as to the fact that he was once a part of the Undead Legion, so his experience by that alone disposed of any doubt I had of his safety.

I made my way to the top of the stairs and found the familiar, royally-clad scoundrel leaning against King Lothric’s throne, just as what Ludleth told me. I walked over to him and he looked up in my direction.

“Well, hasn’t it been some time?” The man looked up upon seeing me, his voice deep and warm. While he carries himself in an almost sinister manner (everyone in the shrine was weary of him) the way he greeted me almost felt open and welcome.

“Yes it has, Leonhard,” I responded indifferently. A few days prior to this reunion, I was a little irritated at the thought of him and how easy I made it for him to have his way with me, I slowly learned to accept that it was only human to seek out whatever pleases us in this forlorn world of Hollows and other monstrosities. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. Even better now that I am seeing you again.” He laughed softly. “Ludleth gave you word that I was looking for you?”

“Yes, he did. I’m surprised that he was even awake when I got here. Sitting on that throne must be dreadfully boring, so I don’t blame him.” I looked over in Ludleth’s direction as I spoke, and then I turned to Leonhard again, getting straight to the point. “So what is it that you wanted to see me for?”

“Hmm...no patience for small talk? I like that.” Leonhard came closer to me, more than the average Unkindled would even upon seeing an acquaintance, and placed his hands around my waist. He is really milking the idea of our “camaraderie” dry, the bastard. I didn’t pull away though, at least not completely. I’ve missed the physical contact, but I didn’t return the embrace so that I didn’t encourage him to make it a habit of being affectionate. “Have you decided on joining the Fingers officially?”

“To tell you the truth, I have thought about it,” I shifted my weight to where I was making eye contact before continuing, “And I have decided after finding out it’s not nearly as hard as I thought it would be, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to join.” And the decision was genuine. I found that harder battles took my mind off of my emotional wounds.

Leonhard held me a little tighter upon hearing my answer, and I could hear his grin from behind the mask. “Splendid. I’m glad that you made that decision.” He nuzzled my forehead, the mask cold on my skin. _Crap_. I had forgotten that he would take full advantage of me being around to serve Rosaria with how often he and I may cross paths. What else should I have expected from a sexual deviant like him? There isn’t going back now, but I decided to start turning down his advances early so they wouldn’t become an issue later. I pushed him away.

“Right, well anyway,” I smoothed down my robes, a tad bit flustered from the contact, “I should get going. I do have Lords to find, and I only stopped by to give you my answer since you were already here.” I turned to leave, but Leonhard grabbed my wrist, and when I made eye contact with the fabric in holes of his mask, I glared at him with my deluxe “if looks could kill” expression. But that didn’t seem to bother him, as he stated his further business before I could respond. “That’s not the only thing I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Oh, it isn’t?” I snorted sarcastically. Did he really think he was going to have his way with me acting like that? Apparently so. He chuckled and moved his hand up to my face and played with a strand of my hair.

“Since you have decided to join, it would be more convenient if you didn’t rely on cracked red-eye orbs all the time,” Leonhard looked into my eyes and brought his hand back down to mine. “So, if you’re interested, I want to show you where you can get a Red Eye Orb, uncracked and untainted.” I looked at him to search for any sort of underlying intention, but it was damn near impossible with the mask. _Smart move, buddy. I’ll give you that._

“Fine,” I sighed, hoping that this will keep him off my back for a while, “But after this, I really do have to go. These robes you gave me can only carry me so far and I want to have ample time in searching for better armor if I’ll even stand a chance against these Lords of Cinder.”

“Understood.” He pulled away finally. “I recommend you prepare yourself, though. Where I’m taking you isn’t so bad, but there is an enemy guarding the orb, and he isn’t the most docile.” He was being serious, and the fact that he suddenly sounded ominous sent shivers down my spine.

“If that’s the case, I’m going to speak with Andre and have him strengthen my weapons. You know, so that I actually do stand a chance,” I pulled out my Claymore for emphasis. “Meet me at the bonfire and don’t keep me waiting.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Leonhard replied and did a small salute in my direction. I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the blacksmith.

——————

We had warped to the second bonfire in the High Wall of Lothric, and made our way down the stairs. I couldn’t hide my irritation that I had Leonhard with me, not because of him personally, but because I like fighting enemies on my own.

“You don’t need any help fighting these Hollows, do you?”

Okay, _now_ it was about him.

“Don’t patronize me.” I grumbled. This was going to be a long errand.

We continued towards where Leonhard said the Orb was, with me killing enemies along the way. The Lothric Knight that caused me so much trouble fell to my blade in a matter of a single swipe, and I was satisfied upon getting my sweet revenge on the fucker. Leonhard stayed behind me so I can take them out myself at my request (it was really more of an order) and was getting a kick out of me killing enemies so quickly. He didn’t really express his entertainment until I killed a Hollow wielding a halberd, to which he whistled in response.

“If I wasn’t attracted to you already, I would definitely be just by seeing you fight,” he said. I wiped the blood off of my Claymore and sheathed it before responding. “If you think I’m good now, you should have seen me in my earlier days.”

“Oh?” He inquired. “Now that must have been something. I would have liked to see that.”

“How I fought in my earlier days?”

“That, and just who you were. Something tells me you weren’t nearly as withdrawn as you are now.”

I stiffened. _How would he know something like that?_ I opened my mouth to say something, but he spoke first.

“I’m sorry, that was rather uncalled for. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“No, you’re absolutely right.”

“Hm?” Leonhard cocked his head. That definitely caught his attention.

“I was lot more...optimistic. I wanted to save the world. Be a hero, and all that.” I laughed a little before continuing, “I wanted to save everyone I loved. I was such a fool to believe I could.”

My chest started to hurt, as my thoughts drifted to Solaire again. There were others I couldn’t save, like Siegmeyer, a knight from Catarina who died saving my ass from a group of Chaos Eaters in Lost Izalith, and Knight Lautrec, who killed Firekeepers for their souls and murdered endlessly to steal the humanity of others to gain the affections of the Goddess of Favor, Fina, in his obsession with her and forsaking all else for his one-sided love. He wasn’t always that way. He tried to find another purpose by joining Solaire, Siegmeyer, and I in our quests, but in the end, he went mad with obsession for the fickle goddess and I had to end his life to keep him from killing more people. They were all my companions when I was Undead the first time, and I cared deeply for each and every one of them. Thinking of them caused my chest to ache terribly.

I had almost forgot Leonhard was with me until I felt his arms wrap around me and press my face into his chest. For the first time, I gave in to his affection and wrapped my arms around his back, unable to say anything due to a lump in my throat, but he took the liberty in speaking instead.

“You aren’t a fool, Chelsea,” he said quietly, “If that were true...well, you’d be calling every knight to ever exist a fool for believing they can save the world, whether their concept of a ‘world’ is the place they live,” he paused for a second and pulled away to wipe some blood off of my face, “Or someone they love.”

I sensed that there was a story behind that last bit, and so I asked, “Do you have someone you love, Leonhard?”

He was silent before answering, eyes still focused on the blood on my face from behind the mask. “Yes, I do.”

“Oh? Does she know that you...you know...” I didn’t want to say “fucked me” considering how delicate the conversation was.

“Oh, she knows,” Leonhard replied, “But I don’t love her in the way that you think.”

“How do you love her then?”

He spoke softly, as if his mind was in a different place, somewhere darker, “Like a mother.”

“Is that the reason behind you wearing this?” I rapped his mask lightly with my knuckle, trying to divert his sudden mood change. It worked. Leonhard laughed gently, the small vibration from his chest onto mine made my heart flutter.

“Something like that.” He replied, but leaving it at that. I guess I wasn’t going to get much more out of him. “Do you ever plan to show me what’s underneath it?”

“Hm...,” Leonhard hummed in thought, “If you ever come to love me like she does, then yes, I will show you.”

 _He wants me to love him? Does that mean he loves me?_ I immediately shot down that thought. It was an absurd way to think. It’s not like I can love him back, so I might as well give up on _that_ idea. But it was nice, and shocking, to find that he did care more about something than sticking his dick in me.

Leonhard took my hand in his and made our way to a locked gate, one that I had tried to open upon my first time coming here but to no avail. Before I could tell him that, Leonhard produced a key from his inner coat pocket and opened the gate door, and gestured into the room, “After you.”

I stepped into the small room. There wasn’t much in here except an elevator accompanied by a lever. I stepped onto it with Leonhard close behind. He stepped on the switch, sending the elevator down. I started to feel anxiety swell in my chest, knowing that there was a tough enemy waiting for me at the bottom with the Red Eye Orb. Leonhard stayed close to me, sensing my anxiety, but he didn’t make physical contact. He must be as nervous as I am.

The elevator finally came to a stop and Leonhard stepped off first, putting his hand around my shoulders and lead me down a small hallway, “This way.”

We didn’t walk for long since the enemy was already in my view from the elevator, but as I got closer, I froze in my tracks. It wasn’t just any enemy. It was an enemy I had a personal vendetta against, as any former Warrior of Sunlight had, black-clad with silver skeletal designs accenting the pure muscle underneath his armor. _A Darkwraith_.

Leonhard stopped as soon as I did, and turned to me. “We can go back if you want. You don’t have to fight the Darkwraith if you don’t want to.”

“As I said,” I swallowed, “Don’t patronize me.”

I stepped towards the monster, my shield and sword ready to strike. I was going to try to get a few stealth hits off before he noticed me. But unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned.

The Darkwraith looked at me, and I squeaked in response as it charged. It swung it’s blade, and I managed to block it in time, but then he swept it round and threw me off my feet and I collided with the pavement. I sat up, coughing blood, and reached for my Estus to take a quick swig, but the Abyssal bastard wasn’t going to have it. He swung his blade down, missing me by a few hairs as I managed to dodge out of the way in time. I drank my Estus as he came at me again, and I dodged behind him, taking a few swipes at him and kept away before he turned around to counter.

I was just about to charge with my Claymore when he parried me, and landed a riposte square in my chest. I coughed up blood again and fell on my back. It knocked the wind out of me, and I couldn’t find the strength to get up again.

“Chelsea!” Leonhard shouted in panic. I looked over at him, my vision blurry, but I could see him, and he hadn’t noticed the Darkwraith was coming for him next.

 _Get up. Get up! GET UP!_ But I couldn’t find the strength to, nor could I even tell Leonhard to run. It was over. We were going to die.

_‘Is this really how you want things to end?’_

_What?_

_‘Are you really going to let another person die from your foolishness? You’re pathetic. You don’t deserve even a moldy wooden crate to rest in.’_

_No, you don’t know anything about me!_

_‘I know everything about you. You deserve to die.’_

_You’re wrong._

And then, something happened. My body, broken all over the cell’s pavement floor, was now standing and invigorated with a familiar power that had been lost over several ages, power that was so lost that it was almost foreign to me. But I also remembered it, I remembered it so well.

_The power of a Lord of Cinder._

Leonhard stood up, shocked to see me get up so quickly, and backed away as soon as I charged at the Darkwraith. This time, it wasn’t fast enough for me. It tried to parry me, but I quickly got behind it and backstabbed it and kicked it’s body off of my blade. It tried standing up again, but I drove my blade into it’s back again, and cleaved it down into it’s spine. The snapping of it’s bones breaking rang in my ears, the Darkwraith’s howl in pain being the lyrics to the music.

“You’re hurting, aren’t you? Allow me to end your suffering.”

With my Cleric’s chime in hand, I rang it once, and the palm of my hand sparked with electricity of a powerful miracle so long forgotten and could only be used amongst the most powerful of clerics and even Lord Gwyn himself. _The Sunlight Spear._

And as soon as the Darkwraith tried making one more futile attempt to stand and face me, I struck at it with the bolt in hand, and it collided into it’s chest, vaporizing the Abyssal servant as if it never existed.

I walked over to pick up an item that the corpse left behind. _The Red Eye Orb._ All this trouble for one little orb. And it was mine.

“How in the hell did you do that?” I looked up to see Leonhard standing there in awe. “I’ve never seen anyone take out a Darkwraith with such strength. You could even rival the gods!”

 _Shit, did he find out I was a Lord of Cinder?_ I started panicking. I didn’t want anyone to find out, but I couldn’t exactly help but use my former power, voluntary or not. Leonhard looked at me eye-to-eye, and I gulped. I knew I was in trouble.

“Did you...did you use an Ember right as I got over to you?”

 _That’s what he thought happened? I’ll take it._ “Perhaps.”

“Of course you did!” Leonhard laughed loudly and clapped his hand against his forehead, “You gave me quite the scare, you know.”

“Yes, well, I can’t exactly give away all my plans in the middle of a fight,” I laughed in return, “Don’t want to alert the enemy. It would take away any chance I would have.”

“That’s very true,” Leonhard wrapped his arms around my waist, “But please don’t be reckless. We are partners after all, so don’t be afraid to rely on me.”

“Yes, partners.” I looked away, feeling heat rise up my face. Then quickly, Leonhard grabbed a hold of my ass, causing me to yelp loudly.

“Now since you almost gave me a heart attack, I want to make sure you remember not to scare me next time.” So he hasn’t forgotten what he had said. I breathed heavily against his shoulder as he backed me gently into a wall.

“Is this really where you want to do this? After we almost died to a Darkwraith in here?”

Leonhard hiked my robes up my legs and took my thigh into his hands and hoisted it around his waist, “Why not? It would add insult to injury to the bastard if we fucked over his grave.”

“You’re a sick son of a bitch.”

“I know.”

He unbuttoned my robes and slipped them off of me and began working on his clothes. I pulled out a bit of cloth and handed it to him, and he looked at me with confusion.

“You don’t want me to see what’s under your mask, and I quite like your lips on mine,” I explained.

“How thoughtful of you,” He said softly with a hint of gratitude. I turned around so he could tie it around my eyes as I searched for something to say to fill the silence.

“Instead of thinking this as ‘insult-to-injury’, can we think of it as a celebration of me joining the Fingers?”

“Sparing the feelings of a Darkwraith? You are just full of surprises, aren’t you?” He chuckled and turned me around to where my back was against the wall again. “But if that’s what you want this to be, then I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

From the darkness of the blindfold, all I could do was listen to him shuffle around and take his clothes off. I heard him step toward me and he placed his hands on my ass again.

“Wrap your arms around my neck. I’m going to lift you by your legs.” I complied without hesitation as he grabbed my thighs in each of his hands and propped me up against the wall. He moaned into a kiss as he took his hand off my left thigh and slipped his cock inside me, filling me up all the way past my sensitive spot, hissing at the tightness.

“Oh, you have been gone too long, darling. It’s a blessing that I’ll get to see you more often.” He started pounding me at a brutal pace, causing me to moan loudly with every thrust. My pussy immediately embraced the onslaught, greeting it like long-lost love. _Oh, I’ve missed this._ His cock stretched my sex in all the right ways, and the telltale knot in my lower belly began to form grow warmer.

Leonhard pressed his lips against my neck and planted soft kisses against it, humming softly. “I’ve missed you. I find myself thinking about you all the time, from your plump arse and supple breasts to your pale skin and soft lips saying my name.” He licked my neck from my clavicle up to my chin, causing me to shudder softly, “You’re right to have called this a celebration. Having you lie with me more often is something worth celebrating.” To emphasize his words, he bit down on my neck as he punished my sex more with his cock’s beating, causing me to throw my head back and scream. I threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling and hanging on for dear life as I was getting close reaching my climax, my body writhing from every little sensation he made me feel.

I was having a hard time holding off my orgasm, but Leonhard’s broken moans were more drawn out, signaling that he was also coming close. With his lips kissing and his tongue dancing with mine, I was in pure euphoria, ready to just give it all up. Leonhard’s body began trembling with mine as he neared his release. He managed to strain his words through his short breaths and long groans upon coming close, “Let yourself go for me, Chelsea.” I didn’t need to be told twice. I came with a shout, Leonhard’s name falling from my lips as I crashed all around him, giving him every bit of my orgasm. Leonhard wasn’t far behind as he moaned loudly into my shoulder as he pumped his cock into me slowly, filling me with his seed to the brim, some even leaking out and dripping down my thighs.

Leonhard lowered me onto the ground, supporting me until I was stable enough to stand on my own. I rested my back against the wall with my hands on my thighs. I was exhausted, and with the amount of shuffling I heard in Leonhard’s direction, he must have known that, and he was trying to pick up his garb as quickly as possible. He handed me my robes before giving me a kiss on my forehead.

“I’ll see you upstairs. Don’t be long. You have some Lords of Cinder that you need to find.”

“Don’t remind me,” I murmured and started to put on my robes as Leonhard took the elevator up. I took off the blindfold and placed it back in my bag along with my newfound Red Eye Orb. As I got ready to leave, I couldn’t help but think about the fight against the Darkwraith. Why did I regain my powers of a Lord of Cinder so suddenly? Will I be able to use them from now on? And who was that voice that spoke to me as I lay dying?

These are all questions that I know I won’t get the answer to now, but I know that if I searched for them as I completed my duty, I was bound to find my answer eventually. I pulled the lever to the elevator, and with that, I knew Leonhard would be anticipating on me joining him upstairs.

_Leonhard..._

Although our duties were different, whatever his may be, I wouldn’t mind being his partner when doing invasions and collecting Pale Tongues for Rosaria. And while he can be insufferable, it was nice to have someone around to keep my mind off of my troubles.

_Jolly cooperation._

Would Solaire be happy that I found some peace in my life, even if it meant I was fornicating with another man? I wasn’t afraid to admit that I enjoyed the man’s company, but is it wrong to indulge despite still mourning my lover’s death? I wouldn’t say that what I felt toward Leonhard was love, but it was definitely something I needed. _A camaraderie, indeed._ Perhaps, a friend wouldn’t be so bad after all. It was only human to seek companionship, I suppose.

I stood on the elevator and pressed the switch. Before the elevator went up, the same voice I heard when I fought the Darkwraith spoke again.

_‘So you finally decided to unlock your true power? Interesting. I can’t wait to see if you will use it to become stronger and succeed... Or will you just fail again?’_

_I won’t fail._

_‘We will see.’_

_Just shut up, already._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn as Chelsea starts hearing voices...I wonder what all that’s about... *Siegward “hmm” noises*
> 
> As much as I want to continue with that, the next chapter is from Leonhard’s perspective! Might have smut, I don’t know yet since I’m still writing it, but we will definitely see some insight as to what the Covenant of Fingers usually do and how the members interact with each other.


	3. Digitus Annularis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonhard wakes to some unpleasant circumstances and goes to see his woman, but he is presented with an unexpected encounter and new feelings that he didn’t think he’d have.

Leonhard woke up with a slight crick in his neck much to his chagrin. He sat up and rubbed his hand along the back of it, just under his hairline, to massage the slight discomfort as he started processing the world around him. The Cathedral of the Deep, while being home to Hollowed clerics, Cathedral Knights, a few man-grubs, and a couple of Giants, was actually well-preserved despite the fact that most buildings and landmarks were destroyed upon Lordran slowly converging different places into one solitary mess.

Leonhard finally sat up on the side of the bed, elbows propped up on his knees as he wiped the crust from his eyes after a much-needed rest, and stood after accepting it was time to rise. It didn’t really matter when he got up, since Rosaria’s Fingers didn’t exactly have a curfew or even a schedule, but he was a tad more energetic than he usually was, almost as much as when he is set to meet with the new recruit.

 _It’s a shame_ , he thought to himself with slight disappointment, _all of this energy and I’m not able to see her._ He picked up a towel from the back of a lonely chair in his room and dug out a bar of lye soap from his satchel and made his way over to his personal bathroom. The Cathedral was now a godforsaken place but it did have it’s perks with the personal bedrooms and washrooms, at least for the higher-ranking clerics that used to reside in them.

 _Ah, that’s right. I should find a room for Chelsea when she makes her way out here_ , Leonhard thought, making a mental note before reaching for the levers on the water pump and adjusted the pressure of each one to his desired mixture of hot and cold water. Being so close to Catacombs of Carthus, and more specifically the Smouldering Lake, made the wait for the change in temperature almost nonexistent. After the tub was filled, Leonhard stepped in carefully as his body adjusted to the heat. He held his breath as he mentally braced himself for the hot water on his legs and feet, still rather traumatized from the burns he suffered from his early Unkindled days, and sat slowly in the tub, basking in the now-welcome warmth. He then wrapped his arms around the edges of the tub, arms bent to where his hands were slightly dipped into the water, and leaned his head back, most of his body now completely submerged, as his thoughts roamed aimlessly through the usual things—the covenant, his past life before becoming Undead (at least the pleasant memories), and basically anything else that a man would think about in a bath.

Leonhard pulled his hands out of the water, slightly reddened with the fingertips pruned from being submerged in the water for so long, and studied them for a minute before holding his breath and submerging his head and everything else under the water. He didn’t worry about the lack of his oxygen from being under the water so long; being Undead made it to where your body didn’t falter so easily to fatal circumstances. Sometimes, when he really had a lot on his mind, he would stay under water for hours until all of the blood in his body started desperately ringing in his ears for oxygen, in which case he got uncomfortably high on and would proceed to pull himself out of the water, gasping for air. But lately, he hasn’t done that...No, not for a very long time.

His thoughts continued to drift, but this time, specifically on the little cleric he recently became acquainted with (or were they friends now?). His mind fixated on the last time they spoke, when they had arrived at Firelink after killing the Darkwraith. It seemed that after the fight, she was a little more relaxed around him, but whether it was because of the heartfelt conversation they had before the fight or the exhaustion from the intense fucking they had after, he couldn’t tell. But to see her typical expressionless face show more and more emotion in response to everything he said or did was definitely something worth cherishing. His cock, originally flaccid, became half-hard with the vision of her face, her soft mouth slack-jawed and her eyes half-lidded in utter bliss from the indecent little fornication she was performing on herself behind Holy King Lothric’s throne. He had cursed himself for not letting her continue so he can see that face tremble from hiding the wanton moans from the telltale knot being undone within her, but the internal desire to give it to her himself, and succeeding in doing so, was enough to vanquish any disappointment he felt, even if he did have to blindfold her. Imagine if he was able to see that beautifully contorted face and those eyes—oh, those eyes that hold so much unbridled emotion that involuntarily blossom forth when he teased her or comforted her—just rolled back upon her release, as if she were possessed, and just take them in as he finished inside her.

Leonhard’s cock was fully hard now as he stared blankly from under the small mirrored crests of bath water, almost forgetting he was in a washroom in one of the most fetid places in Lordran. And as much as he wanted to stroke himself to completion to the thought of the little cleric, he would rather she do it instead. He grinned at the thought, letting air flow out of his mouth from in between his teeth, and shot up out of the water before ultimately changing his mind, as tempting as that would be. He reached for the soap and diligently washed every inch of his skin, wincing from the contact he made with the scars on the right side of his body but overall enjoyed the feeling of cleanliness, rinsed off, and stepped out of the bath.

After drying himself, he walked over to the full-length mirror and looked at himself, specifically the right side of his face where he was also scarred. He remembered when she asked him about taking the mask off, and how he had promised her that if she ever came to love him, he would show her his face. He ran his fingers over his face, just under his pale green eyes, his fingertips gently running over the scar tissue as he scowled at himself. _What a dumb thing to say_ , he thought. He knew how it would be. She would run away at the sight of him, and if she didn’t, she definitely would when he explained how he got burned so badly. He wouldn’t be able to see her again, and the thought of that caused a tightness in his chest that had not been present there for what seemed like an eternity. And it wasn’t just because he had constant sex with her. No, he had fucked other women in the past, and they really didn’t mean much to him except as a temporary distraction from everything else in his life. But, if she were gone, it would destroy him. But even if she did accept him even after all that...what would he do?

_Let’s not get ahead of ourselves._

Leonhard sighed and shook his head as he dismissed the thought and any feelings that came with it. He brushed his short, bronze hair, which was bound to get messy but he’d be damned not to, and brushed his teeth before making his way to the bedroom. He got dressed, equipped his satchel, his Sorcerer’s Staff, sickle, and whatever else he felt he would need for today’s invasions and walked out into the cathedral. He was going to make these next few days productive while he waited on Chelsea to arrive, and by then she would have accomplished getting new armor and weapons to hold her own a lot better during invasions. He anticipated her arrival with that same energy from earlier that morning, and sought out to use it to distract himself to pass the time until her arrival.

——————

“And so, after all that, the bastard tried to beg for his life, but that didn’t stop me from stepping on his throat and damn near ripped his tongue out with my bare hands!”

Leonhard opened the doors to Rosaria’s bedchamber and groaned. The other members of the covenant had decided to gather in the chamber. The one making noise was Creighton the Wanderer, a recent addition from the land of Mirrah who had nowhere to go nor a care in the world for a destination, as long as he killed and told everyone about it. He also wore a mask, but his had different connotations than Leonhard’s. Creighton’s mask branded him as a criminal in Mirrah, while Leonhard’s simply existed to hide his injury.

The one in front of him whom he was bragging to, regardless if he wanted it or not, was Kirk, the Longfinger. Kirk was actually the first of the Fingers, having served a maiden from many ages ago under the alias, “The Knight of Thorns”, but since the passing of the maiden, he had chosen to seek another unknown purpose to keep from going Hollow, and joined the covenant. However, he hasn’t shown interest in anything, including finding Pale Tongues, so everyone assumed it was almost his time.

On the other side of the room was Yellowfinger Heysel, a scholar who was from the land of Oolacile, or at least wore the garb and the ridiculous headwear. She used a pick that could be used to strike an opponent and cast sorceries, and while she was a formidable opponent, she was also bothersome to be around since she would flirt with Leonhard with every chance she’d get, hoping to convince him of invading with her. As soon as he entered the room, Heysel flew to him like a magnet.

“Took you long enough to get up, Ringfinger. Are you going to invade today?”

“Yes, Yellowfinger,” Leonhard grumbled slightly. He was not in the mood for socializing. “I assume you’ve already gone out?”

“No, I just got done rebirthing with Lady Rosaria. I want to be just as beautiful as she is. What do you think?” Heysel got uncomfortably close to Leonhard, but he was able to back up smoothly, as if it were second-nature.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Leonhard replied coolly, “Ask someone who you think it matters to.”

“Oh, Ringfinger,” Heysel giggled, “You were always such a tease. You need to stop playing hard to get.”

Leonhard ignored the retort, but still continued to speak, “What is he on about now? He knows better than to boast about his gruesome escapades in here.” Heysel shrugged. “I can’t really say. I’ve been ignoring him since I got here. Guess that’s something we have in common, hm?”

Before Leonhard could reply, the boisterous topic of their conversation decided to turn his attention to him.

“So, the Ringfinger has decided he wanted to wake his ass up, has he?” Leonhard looked over to the booming, sleazy man with a tinge of irritation.

“Creighton,” he said flatly, “Seems like you didn’t listen the other times someone’s told you to speak respectfully in front of the Lady. How do you expect to get a title with your insubordinate attitude?”

“What do I care? As long as I get to kill without consequence, I couldn’t give a damn about some degenerate title.” He pulled out a dagger and used it to shave some dirt off his boot and flicked it onto the bedchamber floor. He was really testing Leonhard’s patience.

“I guess I can’t help but be surprised that you are a disrespectful individual. As if you’re deserving to be associated with us to begin with.”

“You and I are no different, Ringfinger,” Creighton sneered, “You also enjoy killing without consequence. If anything, you wear your little title proudly only for it to cover what you really want.”

“What are you insinuating?” Leonhard growled, getting right up in Creighton’s masked face. 

“C’mon...‘ring finger’? It’s obvious you have feelings for the woman.” He gestured over to Rosaria. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re trying to impress the woman with how many tongues you bring for you to only tongue her yourself—“ Leonhard’s left hand collided with Creighton’s face, knocking him down, before he could finish his quip. He went to draw out his shotel, but Kirk stopped him by pulling him back by the shoulders.

“Creighton, I highly suggest you leave,” Kirk said monotonously, still holding Leonhard back, his piercing armor making one or two pricks in the masked man’s backside. “You wouldn’t want to involve other member’s of the covenant in a scuffle, now would you?”

Creighton stood up slowly, wiping the blood from his bruised lip. Kirk let Leonhard go, but stayed in between both angry men, eyeing the Wanderer with a piercing gaze that was sharper than his prickly armor. Creighton huffed and ran his fingers through his silver hair before speaking.

“Whatever. Everyone knows that the bastard has his eye on someone else,” He snickered, “And here he would go on preaching about how we aren’t comrades.”

Heysel glimpsed over at Leonhard, Creighton’s words obviously catching her attention. “What is he saying, Ringfinger?”

 _Fucking hell._ Did Creighton really have to bring _that_ up? “Yes, but I don’t see how it’s any of your business.”

“Oh, I disagree,” Creighton continued, “If I remember correctly, you were holding the little hussy out on the High Wall of Lothric. Sounds like there’s more to it than you’re saying.”

“Enough!” Leonhard shouted, now having reached his limit. “What I do doesn’t matter. I have no obligation to explain my personal decisions to any of you.”

“No, but it’s hilarious considering that I was right about you being a hypocrite. I bet you’ve even fucked the little whore, too.”

“That’s enough.” Kirk, who had been trying to keep things under control, now having reached his breaking point, swiped at Creighton with his barbed sword, causing him to jump out of the door. “Creighton, you are no longer welcome in our Lady’s bedchamber until you fix that foul mouth of yours. You can still collect Pale Tongues for our mistress, but you are not allowed to enter unless it’s for that reason and that reason alone. Are we clear?”

Creighton didn’t respond with anything short of a scowl, looked at Kirk, looked at Leonhard, and then back at Kirk before turning away. Leonhard relaxed a little before Heysel started talking again.

“Was what he said true, Ringfinger? Do you really have a partner?”

Leonhard pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his masked nose, eyes closed and lips pursed. Why the fuck does that asshole have to destroy any peace that he has?

“Yes, Heysel, I do,” Leonhard replied, saying her name instead of her title, breaking an unspoken rule between them. To say a Finger’s name instead of their title was comparable to denying their status in the covenant, and a great insult unless you were given permission to call them anything else aside from it. In Leonhard’s case, however, he didn’t care as long as Heysel finally learned her place. “But as I said, that is none of your business.”

“So it’s true that you held her and...?”

“And so what if I have? I think I am more than capable of choosing who I want to lie with and who I hold.”

Heysel looked at him with a painful, teary-eyed look, and choked back a sob before saying, “You’re despicable,” before stomping out of the bed chamber.

Leonhard only stared after her, knowing this was going to bite him in the back later. He walked over to the dirt that Creighton flicked off of his boot, and wiped it up with a handkerchief. He didn’t like dirtying the cloth with the bastard’s mess, but he wasn’t just going to leave it on the Lady’s chamber floor. As he finished up, Kirk came up to him, but Leonhard waved him off a bit.

“If you’re going to ask about the woman, I recommend you don’t. I’ve had enough of giving away details of my personal affairs.” He said as he wrapped up the handkerchief inward, as to not get dirt everywhere, and place it in his bag.

“I am really more concerned about your back, Ringfinger,” Kirk pointed to some blood stains. “I may have pulled you a bit too hard. I didn’t mean to make you bleed.”

“Ah, is that what you are on about?” Leonhard relaxed finally. Kirk was the easiest to talk to in the covenant by far, not prodding about anything or boasting about murder. He would go as far as calling Kirk a friend, even if he didn’t consider him a confidant. He took off his coat and only saw a few holes where the thorns punched through. “Luckily for you, you only managed to stick my coat a few times. Nothing that sitting at the bonfire couldn’t fix.”

“Good to hear,” the other man replied, sitting at the bonfire, and Leonhard joined him.

“I hope that cretin listens this time when someone tells him to do something. I wouldn’t mind killing him once and for all, but to do that here in front of the Lady is disrespectful beyond all measure,” the masked man stated, “The very first time I spoke with the bastard, he was a prick. I’d rather stay in the swamps of Farron Keep than have to deal with him again.”

Kirk laughed in response, which was a rarity with him. Even with his lack of interest in the world, he still managed to show his amusement from time to time. “The Lady is the goddess over a covenant of _invaders_ , Ringfinger. If anything, she would be absolutely jubilant if you slaughtered him in here. Let the Man-Grubs clean up the mess.” Leonhard snorted, knowing the other man was right. Maybe he would kill him, but only if he disrespected her like he did earlier again.

“Do you know why he’s like that with you?” Leonhard looked up at the thorny knight, now curious. “It’s because you sound like someone he had to kill. Apparently the guy landed him in a jail cell somewhere.”

“I don’t blame him,” Leonhard replied, “How did you get that piece of information out of him?”

“He was terribly drunk and I got him talking about his ah... achievements in Drangleic, if that’s what you want to call them.” Kirk laughed, “Trust me, you don’t want to be in the same room as the man when he’s drunk. He can’t handle his ale as much as he says he can. It took weeks to get the smell of vomit out of my room, and I hadn’t even invited him in there in the first place.”

After the laughter had died down, Leonhard stared into the fire and let his mind wander back to his partner. 

 _Fucking Creighton_ , he thought to himself angrily. The Wanderer had a bad habit of stalking around and getting into everyone’s business, and most of the time, it wasn’t that big of an issue. All Leonhard would hear about his how much time he had spent invading, and how “boring” he was. Now he would have to constantly watch his back and worry about Chelsea, hoping he didn’t do anything to her. He remembered a time where the piece of shit snuck up on Heysel while she was bathing in a lake and stole her clothes, and before she even processed what happened, he used a Homeward Bone back to wherever the hell he came from. He would do something much worse to the little Cleric simply just by being associated with Leonhard, and that bothered him immensely. He was now worried about her safety, despite knowing of her capability in battle.

“Why don’t you go see her?” Kirk broke the silence, as if reading Leonhard’s thoughts.

“I told her I’d wait until she at least found better armor and that I’d meet her here. Besides, I was going to invade today.”

“Yes, well, you’re obviously anxious about her,” Kirk shrugged, “Go see her. It would give you some peace of mind. You can’t exactly concentrate on your invasions if you’re worried about her.”

Leonhard stared at him in silence, and before saying anything, he stood up and placed his hand over the bonfire. “You know, it’s not very often that I admit when someone is right multiple times in one day.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ve gotten the better of you, Ringfinger,” Kirk stood up and clapped on Leonhard’s shoulder, and instantly removed it when the haze from the bonfire started to rise to avoid being transported with him.

“Hmph,” Leonhard mocked, and looked at his friend in amusement, “You wish.” He disappeared in the haze before Kirk could say anything.

——————

Leonhard arrived back at the shrine and he didn’t even wait for the haze to dissipate before looking for his partner. He made his way over to the blacksmith and the shrine maiden, but she wasn’t there. He then walked down the stairs over to where the Londor pilgrim was, only to find his corpse and a woman in black armor looking at him curiously, before he turned around and went to search on the other side of the shrine.

He walked past the thief and the pyromancer, who he didn’t see before when he first came here, and wondered how all of these people arrived. Much to his disappointment, he only found a blind nun at the end of the other side. He made his way up the stairs, ready to go to the bonfire and look elsewhere when it lit up and haze emanated from it, signaling that someone had just arrived.

The haze died down to reveal Chelsea and a new face, a lithe, dark-haired assassin wearing a Clandestine coat. Leonhard felt relief wash over him, but it was instantly replaced with a knot in his stomach. The assassin said something that Leonhard couldn’t quite make out, and Chelsea erupted into loud giggling, something that he had never made her do. His heart sank in a way that he couldn’t quite place, but it was enough to sour his mood worse than before.

Chelsea looked up to find the masked man standing in front of her, and the giggling instantly stopped, but a small and polite smile remained as she regarded him, but that wasn’t enough to make the knot go away.

“Hello, Leonhard,” she said as she waved softly, “I wasn’t expecting to find you here.” He didn’t say anything before taking her hand in an almost possessive way, and then proceeded to speak.

“I got rather bored with invasions,” He stated, trying to suppress his sudden mood change, “I felt the need to come see you.” He went over to her side, as close as he could without pushing her or knocking her over, and looked over to the man that came with her. “Who’s this?”

The man bowed his head and introduced himself, “My name is Orbeck,” he said, “Of Vinheim.”

“I see.” Leonhard said out of disinterest, and turned back to the woman next to him. “Is it possible we can talk for a bit?”

“Uh, yeah,” Chelsea cocked her head, “Let me show Orbeck around first and then I’ll meet you by King Lothric’s throne.”

“I’d like to talk now,” Leonhard said before she could finish, and the looks from the both of them (mainly, Chelsea’s stern and irritated expression) made him turn down his impulsive demands a bit, “If that wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Chelsea’s eyes looked over him, as if to analyze the situation, and then turned to Orbeck. “I’m sorry, but would you be willing to wait over by the Firekeeper for a moment? My colleague seems to have a private matter that he needs discussed.” As politely as she was putting it, there was a tinge of anger in her voice, and Leonhard knew he was in for more than a scolding. But Orbeck didn’t see anything of it, and nodded once, as if he understood the situation. “Sure, take your time.”

As soon as Orbeck made his way over to the Firekeeper, Chelsea yanked Leonhard’s arm up the stairs past the deserter, but instead of taking a left towards the thrones, she made a right up towards the entrance of the shrine and then up towards the Great Tree.

 _This is rather excessive_ , Leonhard gulped, _She’s really mad at me._ They walked past the Great Tree and into a tower with a spiral staircase and crossed the bridge after climbing them. They came to another tower with an elevator inside. Chelsea stepped on the switch to the elevator, sending the both up without saying a word, until they reached the stairs, which made Leonhard finally say something.

“Look, I know you’re mad at me, but I think we are more than enough away from everyone to speak privately—“

“Shut up.” Chelsea interjected, looking at him with piercing, golden-brown eyes. Leonhard immediately went silent as she continued. “I don’t care what your deal is, but I have a lot to deal with right now. It could have waited until after I showed the new resident around the shrine. Show some damned diplomacy.”

Now Leonhard was getting pissed off, and the knot in his belly returned. “You call that diplomacy? You came in from the bonfire giggling like a little girl with her first suitor.”

“I was only laughing at something he said about basilisks, you twit.” Chelsea looked into his eyes, and even though he was wearing a mask, he could have sworn she was staring right into his soul. “Leonhard, I get it. You’re a man who likes to claim the woman he’s having sex with. I’ll kiss you, I’ll fuck you...Hell, I’ll go even as far as to call you my lover,” She paused for a second and Leonhard could have sworn her cheeks were dusted a bright pink, and it wasn’t from her fury from before, “But I don’t want to deal with jealousy. I don’t have time for it. Just accept the fact that I’m yours for right now and let me fulfill my purpose in the process.”

Leonhard was dumbfounded. She actually claimed to be his in a way that only courtship would allow. His heart was hammering in his chest, and he held her waist as he pulled her close to him, “You’re mine?”

Chelsea’s expression relaxed a bit and placed her hands on his shoulders, allowing him to embrace her completely for once, “As much as I can be. As I said, I have a duty to fulfill.”

Leonhard sighed, a tad anxious as he said, “I know I promised you that I’d show you my face if you ever came to love me.”

“I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I love you, Leonhard,” Chelsea looked away with an expression he couldn’t quite read, “But I do like being around you. You make me feel better in ways that laughter can’t.”

“I’ll accept that, then.” Leonhard held her to his chest, her face nuzzled in gently. He was still very nervous about showing her what was underneath the mask, but she was giving him full power to do so if he wished.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I would prefer not to show you my face, yet.” Leonhard pulled her away slightly so he was looking at her. She nodded slowly. “I understand.” She pulled away but still kept his hands in hers and smiled, assuring that everything was okay between them. “I need to attend to Orbeck now. Are you going back home or wherever you usually go?” Leonhard laughed softly, and he noted the sudden excitement in her expression as she usually showed whenever he did. “I think I’ll invade for a little while. I only came by to see you for a bit, but I don’t want to keep you. You still don’t have armor like you wanted.”

Chelsea hummed, almost disappointed, but she nodded. “Well, it’s still daylight out. If you would like, come back here around nightfall. I should be here with my new armor by then.” Leonhard smiled, his eyes crinkling at the invitation. “I’ll be waiting, then.” He went to pull out another Homeward Bone, but Chelsea was staring at him, more specifically his mask where his mouth would be.

“What is it?”

Chelsea walked closer to him and placed her hands on his sides, and then looked up at him under long lashes as her face came very close to his. “Do you trust me?”

Leonhard, who had somewhat of an idea of what she wanted to do, hesitated for a moment, the woman patiently waiting for his answer, her golden eyes begging for affirmation. All he could do was nod softly and say, “Yes.”

Chelsea reached for his silver mask and very gently took it off and he quickly took it from her. She then pulled the black cloth covering his face out from under his coat and undershirt and very delicately pulled it up to where it was just exposing his neck, lips and nose. She gauged his reaction so she wouldn’t cross any boundaries before holding his face in both hands, making sure the cloth didn’t come up any more than he wanted it to, and placed her soft lips on his. The kiss was cautious, making sure she didn’t cross any lines, and it turned into something deeper when Leonhard threw caution to the wind and kissed her deeply, tongue and lips dancing with hers, and his fingers tangled with her auburn hair. The sudden movement caused Chelsea to pull the cloth up more, but at this point Leonhard didn’t care. He wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to make her completely his. Chelsea wasn’t deepening the kiss, however, out of fear of taking the cloth off, and the man became frustrated, and thus reached up to take the cloth off himself.

She took that as permission and tangled her fingers in his hair in return, now deepening the kiss from her end, and kissed him with much more passion. His erection was as fully hard as it was when he had his bath and he wanted to bury it deep within her, but she pulled away, her eyes still closed. She breathed heavily, catching her breath, before saying, “And here I was trying to respect your wishes.”

Leonhard chuckled, “And I appreciate that you were.” He kissed her hair, it’s sweet smell filling his nostrils, “You can still look, you know. I think we are at the point of no return.”

“Or I could keep my eyes closed and you could put everything on again.” Even from being disheveled, she was willing to put his comfort before anything. Leonhard felt his chest erupt in a warm glow, like he was melting at her thoughtfulness, and held her head up. “You can look.”

Chelsea hesitated, as if giving him time to back out, before she opened her eyes. Leonhard expected her to look shocked or scared, but instead, her eyes looked over the scars on his face, studying each and every one without blinking.

“What happened?” She asked softly.

“It was an injury from a battle I had,” he knew she’d ask this, and he almost regretted showing her, “I would rather not talk about it.”

“I can understand why. Now I know why you wouldn’t allow me to take off the mask,” She delicately placed a kiss on his cheek, and his breath hitched at the contact. The skin was sensitive, yes, but it was almost pleasant. “But I definitely like you better without it.”

“You really think so?” He looked at her and she nodded, her smile gentle and her eyes crinkling. Oh, he definitely loved that expression. He wanted to see it more.

“I’m glad I showed you then,” He kissed her lips softly, lingering for a bit, before pulling away, “I think we made your new friend wait long enough. Go show him around. I’ll be waiting here when you’re done.”

“You’re not going to invade?” Chelsea cocked her head to the side. “No. To hell with them.” Leonhard placed her hand on his still-hard erection. “I’d rather invade your body instead.”

Chelsea giggled loud and slapped her hand to her head, “You’re terrible. So terrible.” Leonhard grinned widely. _So I can make her laugh after all_ , he mused to himself.

“I’m going to show Orbeck around now.” Chelsea said after laughter died down. “See you in a bit?”

“Yes,” Leonhard replied, “I’ll at least walk you back.” He slipped on his hood and mask, and took the little cleric’s hand as they made their way down the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be full of that lewd goodness Leonhard’s perspective. Chelsea also tells him about her past lover, something that she’s been wanting to keep secret from anyone, until now.
> 
> It’s going to be a while before I post. I recently moved back to Florida from out of state, but I promise I’ll get to it as quickly as I possibly can!


	4. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chelsea reconvenes with Leonhard after showing Orbeck around and after a bit of some lewd goodness (here’s your NSFW warning, kids), she tells some of her secrets to him, only for him to love her more.

Leonhard waited at the top of the tower as Chelsea showed the assassin around his new home at Firelink Shrine. Upon meeting back with the man called Orbeck, he had apologized rather profusely to the man for his rudeness, to which he accepted, although unsure of as to why he was apologizing in the first place. The assassin seemed well-reserved, almost shy, but he was open about how he was a part of the Dragon School before becoming Undead, and was expelled once they found out.

 _What a stupid rule_ , Leonhard angrily thought, _that boy has loads of potential_. He was lucky enough to have learned sorceries with his upper-class upbringing, but he was humble and knew not everyone was as lucky as he. If he had the time, he would teach the lad a thing or two.

After a few minutes of letting his mind wander, his attention snapped back into reality as the sound of familiar footsteps made their way up the stairs. Chelsea looked up at him and regarded him with a smile as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her hair bore a bright crimson in the afternoon sunlight and her already golden eyes captured the light in a glowing hue. She had strapped her satchel around her waist and her arrows around her shoulders, the strap settling between her breasts, allowing the frompy cleric’s robes to accentuate her figure. _Has she always been this beautiful?_

“I’m sorry that took so long. I wanted to be sure he was comfortable where he was. Turns out all the man needs were some books and a quiet place. He seems to have everything else.” Chelsea walked up to him and he wrapped his hands around her back pulling her close. He would never get tired of holding her. “It’s alright. I have all the time in the world.”

“You don’t do anything besides invasions?”

“No,” Leonhard replied, “At least, not aside from the daily needs of eating, sleeping, and bathing. Of course, there’s you to keep me busy, but that’s about it.”

“I see,” she responded as she nuzzled into the nape of his neck. Before, Chelsea would pull away and be reserved to herself, but now she seemed more comfortable with embracing him. Leonhard didn’t want to admit it, but he craved this more than he ever expected to, and was glad that she took to him.

He embraced her more in return, feeling the softness of her body underneath the robes. How she survived so long without chain mail was beyond him, and he felt a shred of guilt for keeping her there with him instead of letting her seek out better armor, but the turgid flesh of his manhood throbbed, instantly drawing him back to his primitive needs that lingered since he woke up. He grabbed her ass, causing her to gasp softly, and pressed his erection against the base of her stomach.

“You are not the most patient person in the world, are you?” Chelsea laughed softly.

“Not in this case, no,” He whispered softly into her ear, is voice full of lust, “I find you very hard to resist.” He went to lift her robes, but she stopped him, and he immediately looked up at her in concern. 

“I...There’s something I want to try...If you don’t mind,” She looked away, her face flushed a bright pink. His cock throbbed again, anticipation coursing through his veins. “What do you want to try?”

Without responding, Chelsea pulled away and lowered herself, almost gracefully, onto her knees. She looked at the bulging hem of his trousers, then looked up at him, before pressing her lips against it. Leonhard threw his head back and growled wantonly as she kissed at his bulge, almost worshipping it. His hands threaded through her hair and fisted it, pressing more of her face into him. She moaned softly as she nuzzled into his crotch further, the vibration adding stimulation, and if it weren’t for an immense amount of self-control, he might have just let himself come then and there.

Her hands started working her way up his boots and over the buttons of his trousers. Leonhard held his breath as she opened them and pulled out his throbbing member. She looked up at him as she licked the tip, cleaning the beading precum leaking out from the small hole and dripping down his foreskin, before encasing the thick meat in her warm, slick mouth.

“Oh Gods, your mouth!” Leonhard let out a small groan in approval and rocked his hips in time with her head as she bobbed up and down his cock at just the right pace, not too fast to cause overstimulation, but slow enough to keep him wanting more.

It wasn’t long before Chelsea picked up the pace further, making Leonhard feel stuffy behind his mask. His breathing was already erratic and he was beginning to grow dizzy, and before he could process it, he was reaching up to take his headwear off. Chelsea looked up to see what he was doing, not ceasing her ministrations, and Leonhard regarded her as he looked down at her, affirming that everything was alright. He threaded his fingers in her thick, auburn hair again and went back to thrusting as he was before, and just when she settled back into the pace she set before, Leonhard pulled her hair gently to where her amber eyes met his emerald ones, before taking both sides of her head and snapped his hips to where his cock buried completely into her throat, her nose pressed right up into his pubic hair. 

“Mmf!” Chelsea’s eyes went wide at the impact, her grip on the man’s trousers grew tighter, but he didn’t relent. Instead, Leonhard continued to fuck her throat as she breathed harshly out of her nose, her eyes now lidded from the onslaught, pupils blown and never leaving his. Leonhard couldn’t decide what he loved more, the fact that she submitted her entire mouth just for his pleasure or simply that lustful expression in her eyes. _It doesn’t matter,_ he mewled to himself. _If she didn’t say she was a cleric, I’d mistake her for a harlot instead of a nun!_ Oh, how he loved every bit of how she tries to hide her true desires. As much as she tried to hide her indecency from him from time to time, she can’t help but show just how much she wants him, despite how much she says she doesn’t. That look in her eyes...they betray everything. The way she looks at him almost overflows from the amount of devotion for him. He would have mistaken that look for love if she didn’t prioritize her duty before him. No, even then...her actions spoke louder than her words, almost a crying prayer saying how she truly felt. 

As he became lost in his adoration for her, he managed to miss Chelsea’s hand slipping more into his trousers to bring his balls out into the open. When she began to massage them, that’s when he became undone. His thrusts became uneven and not long after, he thrusted his cock into her throat as deep as it could go. With his grip on her scalp almost causing some bruising, he spilled his seed into her throat. She struggled to swallow it all, some dripping down her lips as he slowly stroked in and out of her mouth before pulling out completely. After a minute or so, she managed to get it all down.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done something like that,” Chelsea said as she wiped her chin with her sleeve. Leonhard tucked himself back into his trousers and then looked up at her with innocent surprise. “Really now? Well, I’m glad I was the first, at least in a good while,” He said through short pants, pleasantly satisfied. He sat down with his legs crossed and his back against one of the tower pillars and held his hand out towards her, “Would you like me to return the favor?”

“No, it’s fine,” she replied as she sat within his lap, “I don’t have a lot of time to spare.” She wrapped his arms around her and leaned her head against his clavicle and closing her eyes, her small frame allowing her head to come just under his chin. “But this? This is something I have time for.”

Leonhard held her to him tightly, pressing his lips to her hair, taking in her scent. She must have not done much fighting yet, at least not anything brutal. She smelled like fire, obviously, as she came from the bonfire not too long ago, but he detected a hint of sage, and something else, something familiar...

“You know, I was in the Crucifixion Woods before I came here. It’s where I found Orbeck.” Chelsea said suddenly, breaking him from his thoughts.

“Ah, so that’s what it is.” Leonhard replied, in which caused Chelsea to look up at him in question. “I was...thinking about what you smelled like,” He said awkwardly, now realizing just how creepy that sounded, “You smell of incense and swordgrass.”

“You have a good nose,” the woman laughed softly, “There were two Watchdogs of Farron guarding a ladder to Farron Keep. I made short work of them, but you’re probably smelling the grass they had on them. I didn’t take it since I don’t have any use for it, but they must have gotten it from killing others that were coming through there.”

“Ugh, you’re going through the swamp?” Leonhard made a face in disgust. “I would still find you attractive and desire you, as per the usual, but the idea of the swamp tainting your body makes me uneasy. I would worry about you getting sick from the poison in the water.” 

“Oh you didn’t know? Clerics don’t get poisoned easily.” Chelsea held up her chime. “We are naturally resilient to those sort of things. With all the healing and such. Also, I have a lot of that purple moss, and none of the regular stuff. The really good kind that has flowers on it, so I can treat poison and toxins that makes it’s way into my body.”

Leonhard smiled. Every Undead knew about the difference between the variants of mosses, but Chelsea explained it as if she were a child that has just learned about it. It was almost adorable to him.

“If I may be frank with you,” Leonhard said, in an attempt to change to a more serious subject, so that he could say something he’s been wanting to say for a long time, “I didn’t think I’d get this close to you.” Chelsea leaned her head up in his direction, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers, mostly afraid of offending her with what he said next. He’s seen how formidable of an opponent she was, after all. “I was prepared to just be covenant allies after our first encounter, but I never thought I would want this with you, or anyone, for that matter.” 

Chelsea looked straight ahead and her face made that same unreadable expression as she had before when they argued. He patiently waited for what seemed like an eternity before she replied, “Yeah, I know how you feel. I was expecting to just fulfill my duty, but here we are.” She sat there for another long moment, and it made Leonhard wonder if she was truly happy with her decision to be with him like this. Surely, she would up and leave if she really wanted to, or perhaps she was staying only because he wanted her to. He opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke first.

“Who else is in the covenant?” She asked. Her emotions were not something she wanted to talk about, but Leonhard was patient and proceeded to answer her. “We have two sorcerers, including myself, a knight, although he’s more of a mercenary in my opinion, and well, a Darkwraith.” He smiled wryly at the last bit, knowing full well how much she hated Darkwraiths. “He doesn’t invade anymore, nor does he do anything, really. He’s a good-hearted fellow and once served a woman who I assume he was in love with at the time. I didn’t get all the details from him, but he’s only hostile to you if you did something he really cared about.” His thoughts brought him back from earlier in the day when Creighton defiled Rosaria’s bedchamber with his foul words, and how Kirk broke up the fight, not just for Rosaria’s sake, but for Leonhard’s as well. Not many people figured out who Leonhard was or what kind of person he is, but Kirk had been alive since the first Age of Fire, so his ability to read people was sharp, and that’s why he became friends with him; so that he didn’t have to explain anything. Kirk just knew the jist of it, and that was more than enough information for the man.

“As long as he stays out of my way and doesn’t cause me any problems, I’m fine with allying with him,” Chelsea stated “A Darkwraith is a Darkwraith, but an Unkindled is an Unkindled. There’s still a shred of humanity in him. Although, from what you’re saying, he’s bound to go Hollow soon.”

Leonhard nodded somberly. “Aside from you, he’s the only other member of the covenant that I get along with. So much so that I agreed to his wishes of killing him before that happens.” Chelsea looked at him, her eyes full of unfathomable sadness, and she held his wrists tightly, stroking her thumb along the gloved hand before saying softly, “That must have been very hard for you to agree to.”

“It was,” Leonhard stated, “But I rather he die the way wants to.” He then asked her a question in an attempt to change the subject, her sudden mood change not going unnoticed. “I have been wondering. Why did you choose to join the Fingers?”

“Why do you ask? Is it a really evil covenant, hellbent to slaughter for no purpose whatsoever?”

“No, but if you ask a Blade of the Darkmoon, or the just the Blue Sentinels in general, they’d say that, but luckily for us they haven’t been an issue as of late. I’m just curious as to why a _cleric_ hasn’t become one of them or a Warrior of Sunlight.”

Chelsea’s eyes went wide and Leonhard held his breath. _Damn it, did I cross a line I shouldn’t have_? She looked down at the palms of her hands and was silent for a long while. Before Leonhard could apologize and insist on her not having to say anything, Chelsea spoke softly, as if she were forcing herself to speak.

“Do you remember when you said that every knight had their own concept of saving their ‘world’? And how it could be someone they loved?” She shook her head, her eyes so full of sadness, but her lips smiled softly. “I was a part of the Warrior of Sunlight covenant when my lover died and, well, he was mine.

“No, he didn’t go Hollow or anything. It was me. I had to kill him.” Chelsea looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes and her hand holding her chest. “It was all my fault. We split up in the ruins of Lost Izalith, and after I killed one of my enemies that I had set my sights on, I managed to find him. But in a way, it wasn’t him. He was being infected by a Sunlight Maggot.”

Leonhard sat there, positively shaken. To see this composed, self-reserved woman crumble in his grasp made him feel helpless. He settled on listening intently, instead, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I...I should have stayed with him. If I knew what would happen, I wouldn’t have chased after my own ambitions. I can’t even cry about it anymore. I cried so much about it. I’m so useless. After it all, I threw away my armor, my weapons, my covenant badge, my medals from assisting others in their hardships...I didn’t want any of that anymore. All I kept was his sword, but even that’s missing now.” She buried her face in her hands, unable to say anything. Leonhard didn’t know what to say or do. He just let her sit there as he tried to figure out what to say, but he didn’t have anything. All he could do was hold her closer and pet her hair gently, and he spoke without thinking as she took her face from her hands and lay against chest.

“Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but I believe you are not to blame for his death.” He felt her head shift upward and he continued to talk. “If anything, you probably saved him, given the position he was in. Sunlight Maggots are stubborn creatures that can only die when the host is killed. They don’t latch off until their host is completely drained of nutrients.” He then looked her in the eyes, his hand cupping her face, before saying, “If I were him, I would be happy that you chose to save me from a long and painful life by killing me. But that’s just how I am.”

Chelsea looked away, but not out of irritation or upset. Instead, she closed her eyes and sighed. “Before he breathed his last, he couldn’t say anything, but there was a look in his eyes. One of gratitude. He knew I would blame myself, but he looked at me like that because he didn’t want me to. But I couldn’t help it.” She looked into his eyes with utmost vulnerability and asked, “Tell me, did I let him down?”

“No, you didn’t,” Leonhard replied. “You are only human. The fact that you felt so much for him, and how you still do...He was a very lucky man to have you love him as much as you did.”

An astonished look crossed her face, taken aback by his response, “I’m surprised that you’re not angry, after all we’ve been through. I would think I broke your heart now that you know why I am having a hard time loving you.”

“What? Chelsea listen,” Leonhard held both of her hands in his and looked directly at her, “I understand your pain. It takes time to move on from the death of someone you hold dear, let alone finding the will to love again. I’ve been Undead for a god awful long time.” He swallowed since his mouth went dry from speaking so much at one time, “But that’s to my advantage. I’ve gained quite a bit of patience. Well, maybe not for certain people, but for the vast majority of them. Especially, for someone that I have feelings for.”

Leonhard kissed her forehead and then pressed his to it. “I didn’t think I’d find someone that I would feel in the way I do for you. But I’ll be damned if I held you back due to my selfish desires. If you want to go back to being a Warrior of Sunlight, hell, even a Blade of the Darkmoon, I’ll still be yours. I’ll even go as far as to help you bring these Lords to their sorry thrones, even though I find that to be a bigger chore than what I’m willing to deal with, or even if you abandon your duty altogether. The point is, I want to help you feel better about yourself and help you to find peace in any way I can.”

Chelsea pulled back and stared at him, speechless. She paused, trying to get her thoughts together and after a short time, she replied in a small whisper, “Why are you so sweet to me?”

Leonhard kissed her forehead again, this time lingering just a bit longer, and hummed in satisfaction when he felt her relax in his arms. “It’s not a matter of ‘being sweet’ as it is ‘being a relatable concept to me’. Those who join Rosaria’s Fingers tend to have a pressing matter that they just can’t seem to overcome in some way.” _Even Creighton_ , Leonhard thought in the back of his mind and he despised that he felt some slight sympathy for the bastard. He stood up and helped Chelsea to her feet. “In any case, you fit well with the rest of us.”

“Even you, Leonhard?” Chelsea said, smiling softly, taking his gloved hand, kissing the palm of it before she pressed it gently to her cheek. 

“Yes, even me.” He replied, returning the smile as he brushed his thumb gently over her cheekbone.

“I’d like to hear about it sometime, whenever you feel comfortable.” She said as she adjusted the straps on her gear. “But for now, I do have a journey to fulfill.”

“And in the meantime,” She added. “I’ll still invade as a Finger. So I’ll still meet you at the Cathedral when I find it.”

“Just so that you’re aware, you actually passed it up.”

“Did I? Well at least I’ll still cover more ground with looking for armor.” Chelsea held him, and Leonhard returned the embrace, relishing that she was making contact first for a change.

“It will be some time before I see you again, will you be alright with that?” She asked him.

“I am a patient man, as I’ve stated before,” Leonhard said as he kissed her hand, lingering on each knuckle as he did.

“So you did.” Chelsea leaned up for a chaste kiss and Leonhard happily returned. _Gods, this is like being a boy all over again._ After a time that felt too long and too short at the same time, Chelsea hesitantly broke the kiss. “I must take my leave now. Promise me that you’ll stay safe during your invasions.”

“Only if you promise me that you will be safe on your journey.”

“I will. And thanks...for everything. I enjoyed seeing your face especially. I find you to be very handsome.” She grinned wide and Leonhard felt himself turn a distinct, but subtle, shade of scarlet. She waved him off before heading towards the stairs and made her way down them.

Leonhard pulled out a Homeward Bone from his satchel, and teleported back to the Cathedral. No one was in the bedchamber upon his arrival except for Rosaria, which he found to be relieving since he forgot to put his mask back on before returning. He walked over to Rosaria, the large woman acknowledging him as he came over. She held her hand out to him, her expression confused as to why he wasn’t wearing his mask upon his arrival, but inviting nonetheless. Leonhard took her hand respectfully and kissed it, and bowed, before verbally greeting her.

“Rosaria,” he said, “I think...I think I may have found a purpose beyond invasions, like you’ve been encouraging me to.” 

——————

It had been two weeks since Leonhard saw Chelsea last. Things at the Cathedral were pretty much the same except that Creighton only entered when turning in Tongues and Heysel avoided Leonhard, much to his relief, and she had been invading as much as possible to stay out of his path. Kirk would stay holed up in his room, as usual. He never ventured much out of his room unless he needed to speak with Leonhard on something or to confide with Rosaria about his life as Undead. Rosaria couldn’t speak, but she listened carefully, since he has been Undead longer than anyone else. It was more of listening to an old man talking about his long, long life, but Rosaria enjoyed hearing it all the same.

As for Leonhard, he had spent most of his time invading since then, but today was a day for him to relax and read up on some old texts that he found while he was out in the world. Some were cookbooks, spell scrolls, and a few fictional works here and there.

Later that evening, a shrill screaming came from down the hall in Rosaria’s bedchamber, and Leonhard immediately dropped everything and ran out to see what was going on. He rushed in to find Rosaria, Creighton, and Kirk surrounding the crouching body of Heysel. She was doubled over, clutching her left shoulder. As Leonhard came closer, he saw that her entire left arm had been sliced clear off and the wound was mostly frostbitten shut, and what wasn’t was bleeding out. Whatever injured her did enough damage that even the bonfire couldn’t heal it upon warping in.

“What the hell happened?” Leonhard asked over Heysel’s screaming.

“YOU!” Heysel shrieked. “YOU AND THAT DIRTY WENCH HAPPENED!” She got up and stumbled over to Leonhard, pinning her body against his as he backed against the wall.

“Yellowfinger, I’m going to need you to stop screaming and—“ 

“STOP SCREAMING! THAT FUCKING WHORE YOU’VE BEEN STICKING YOUR DICK IN DID THIS TO ME, AND _YOU WANT ME TO STOP SCREAMING?!_ ” Heysel collapsed in front of him, the blood loss getting to her. “I SWEAR TO GOD ONCE I REBIRTH WITH ROSARIA, I’M GOING TO KILL YOU AND _THAT BLOODY-EYED BITCH_!”

Bloody-eyed? What the hell was Heysel talking about? Before Leonhard could ask questions, Kirk came over to them and shoved a blood red moss clump into Heysel’s mouth and then cast Vow of Silence on her several times before she was sedated.

“I didn’t know you could cast advanced miracles, Longfinger,” Leonhard sighed, relieved to have Heysel out of his face.

“I used to work with pyromancies, and you need a strong faith and a great intellect to use the ones I would use.” He muttered as he carried Heysel over to the bonfire. Leonhard followed him, Creighton already leaving the room as he joined him.

“What was she going on about with Chelsea being ‘bloody-eyed’? I have never seen her do anything like that,” Leonhard asked urgently, still somewhat confused about the whole situation. Maybe Heysel was seeing things from losing so much blood? Kirk looked up at him dead in the eyes as he treated Heysel’s wounds with the Heal miracle to speed up the healing process.

“According to her, it seems that when our new recruit is...provoked enough, she goes ballistic and cries tears of blood.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry for taking so long to write this chapter!!! I just recently moved back home to Florida and one thing after another keeps happening, but I am determined on completing this story because I really love Leonhard and I know where I want to take the story <3
> 
> As far as the story itself, it really picks up here, switching back to Chelsea’s POV in the next chapter and it’ll touch on what she did to Heysel and what the heck she meant when she said Chelsea cried blood. It will take some time before I post it here, so please look out for it when it comes!
> 
> Also, first Lord of Cinder fight woot!
> 
> If you wanna follow me on any social media, I have a tumblr at thesoulsbornewaifu-official. I post and share a lot of Soulsborne, Devil May Cry, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Berserk related stuff, and I also talk here and there about my story, including what fan art I use for my perception of Leonhard and some self made illustrations of my character, so be sure to check it out!


	5. Deception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As she makes her wait to find armor and to seek out the Cathedral of the Deep, Chelsea uncovers some things that leaves her with more questions than answers. She also has the inevitable confrontation with a jealous Heysel, and the story of ‘the bloody-eyed bitch’ comes to light. There are two sides to every story, and this is her side.

I knew I should’ve found armor before looking for the Cathedral.

It had been a few days or so before I finally reached it, and after slaying enemy after enemy, I was relieved to finally reach the chapel beneath it.

However, my relief didn’t last very long. After resting for a few minutes, I looked up to see a man in a red hood praying at the altar ahead of me. At first, I chose to ignore him. Being Unkindled wasn’t meant for everyone; the poor bastard was probably losing his mind from all the Hollows outside.

But then he kept praying for the next ten or so minutes, and had it not gone from simple prayer to something akin to wailing, I wouldn’t have stood up to interrupt him. Of course, I wasn’t going to tell him to shut to hell up, but I didn’t exactly know what to say either. But since I was already standing next to the whiny son of a bitch, I cleared my throat and spoke.

“Uh, hello there,” I began, speaking over his crying. “Look, I understand being Undead isn’t exactly the easiest thing, but could you keep it down? I’ve had a trying week and I’d like to at least get some sleep before continuing on my journey.”

Much to my astonishment, the man actually stopped, and I stiffened when he turned to look up at me, eyes red and swollen with snot dripping down into his mustache. If it weren’t for the intense staring he was giving me, I would have grimaced at the disgusting sight. I did, however, feel a twinge of regret, but it wasn’t from looking at the guy.

“You’ve...you’ve the same scent as that woman.” He said. I blinked in surprise.

“I...I’m sorry? I don’t know what you mean.” But the man ignored my reply and grabbed my shoulders as his face came dangerously close to mine.

“Then you must be an Ashen One, you must be! You don’t know how long I’ve searched!” Oh Gods, I tried comforting an absolute lunatic. I pushed him off and he grunted as he fell back on the ground. “Look, buddy. I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about and have no qualms in helping you out of your shitty mood, but please, for the love of Lord Gwyn, don’t put your hands on me. I don’t take kindly to crazed manhandling.”

The man looked up at me, and he immediately realized his mistake, and he instantly changed his demeanor. He pressed his hand to his temple and said apologetically, “Ohh, ohh...don’t mind me, I didn’t mean to fall apart.”

I sighed. This man was too far gone. I was debating on leaving him alone or killing him before he became a Hollow, but he spoke before I could decide. “Now Ashen One, I have a kindness to ask of you.”

“What is it?” I groaned irritably. _C’mon, I need some damned sleep._ If this was what it took to get this man out of my hair, then so be it. I just wanted to hurry along with it.

He dug something out of his pocket and held it in front of me. “My lady lives in the cold land of Ariandel. I need you to show her flame. A proper flame that will burn the rot away. If you truly are Ash, then it must be fire that you seek?”

I frowned. “Surely, you can’t have someone else do this?” To which he proceeded to wave his hands erratically. “No! It must be you! No one else can show her a proper flame!”

“Okay! Okay, fine!” _This guy seriously needs to drink an Estus or five,_ I thought. “Just tell me where she is, and I’ll go show her an Ember or something.”

The man immediately calmed down at my acceptance and pressed the object in his hand further in my direction. “Ahh, thank you. They of Ash never fail. The painting of Ariandel. Well, rotted scrap of it, that is.”

“Wait, you’re telling me to show your lady flame and now you’re going on about a damned painting? I don’t have time for this...” But he pressed the scrap of canvas more in my face, coaxing my attention to it. “Go on, take it, touch it...”

At this point, I wanted to leave him behind, but also a blatant bit of curiosity followed after. I don’t know what possessed me to listen to him, but I took a closer look at the scrap, and slowly reached towards it. The scrap looked very familiar, a snowy landscape and remnants of what looked to be a bridge. It was only when my hand was hovering right over the scrap had I realized what this man was actually holding.

“Wait—,” And before I knew it, I was falling down a dark hole and landed on my back in a dark, smelly cave.

 

——————

 

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing, child?” Sister Friede, the cause of the world of Ariandel’s rot, sat on the ground, utterly defeated, as the tip of my Claymore sat inches from her face, ready to drive it into her skull.

“I’ve been here for a week,” I stated angrily, exhausted from surviving in this terrible, cold painting, “At this point, all I know is that I have to kill you in order to get out of here and not have that red-hooded motherfucker on the outside bitch at me for leaving.”

Friede smiled coldly. When I first met the woman a week ago, she had done nothing but given me a warning about staying here and told me to leave. Of course, I couldn’t be arsed. After fighting my way through the Corvian Knights, Giant Flies, and killing her knight, Sir Vilhelm, I was tired of being here. It smelled worse than Blighttown and this arrogant bitch at the end of my sword was going to get it. “I told you that you should leave. Not only did you kill Father Ariandel, but you killed my most beloved servant.”

“Oh, cut the crap, Friede,” I snarled, “You don’t give a shit about Vilhelm or Ariandel. You’re only out for yourself.” The nun snickered.

“Is it a surprise that I am? At the end of the day, humanity only fends for themselves. It’s why the gods feared humanity. Not because of the Abyss, no, but for how they knew they couldn’t stand a chance against us.”

“Don’t you dare speak of the gods that way!” I spat. I was seconds away from killing her but she chose to keep wearing her shit-eating grin.

“Strike a nerve, did I?” She then grabbed my Claymore, the blade cutting into her palm, and shoved it in between her breast. “You can kill me all you like, but it doesn’t change the truth.”

I swallowed down my temper, knowing she didn’t fear death. However, I wasn’t going to let it down easy. “You’re nothing more than soiled rubbish. Humanity would be embarrassed to have someone like you live among us.”

“Then let them be. As I said, it won’t change the truth and it won’t change the future of humanity. My sister, Yuria, is well on her way to creating a new path for humans and Hollows alike.”

“Yuria...you mean Yoel’s Yuria? The knight from Londor?” Friede smiled wider.

“So it seems you’re the one she asked to be the Lord of Hollows. And yet, you fight against me, her beloved sister, after all she’s done to help you find your rightful place.”

“I have no interest in becoming a Lord of Hollows. But I thank you for telling me what she was after.” It was only then that Friede’s smug face shifted to a look of horror, realizing she said too much. Turns out, I knew Yuria was a shady woman when I first met her. There was something sinister about her, something truly evil, especially after she had tried to tell me that Orbeck was trying to become a Lord of Hollows. However, I knew she was lying to me, just like all the humans of Londor do. If only Yoel had not been born there. He was too pure of a soul to live in such a place. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never knew his friend’s true intentions. As for the lies that Yuria told me, well...they didn’t go unpunished.

“Now, Friede, you will meet the same fate as her.”

“Whatever do you mean?” She crawled backwards against the chapel basement floor, her back hitting the wall with a loud thud.

“Your sister, Yuria? She made the same mistake in being a manipulative cunt. Almost made me doubt a dear friend of mine, but I knew better.” I ran my fingers through my hair as a sneer crossed my face. It was my turn to be cruel, and it was well-deserved. “You should have seen her face when I shoved this thing into her chest.”

Friede, now looking absolutely terrified as the flames of Embers flickered across my body, knowing this was her end. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind joining your sister in Hell.” I pushed her hood back, wanting to see her face as I killed her, but I stopped at the sight of it. The right side of her face was scarred, like it had been burned and healed over.

_Almost like Leonhard’s._

“How did you get those scars?” I asked.

“Why should I tell you—“

“Answer the damn question!” I shouted. “Answer it, and I may spare you.”

Friede hesitated before answering, a visible shift in her throat as she swallowed. “I was once like you, Ashen One. Set out to link the fire.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “However, the Soul of Cinder defeated me, and the fire of the First Flame burned my skin. Those who fail to link the fire are then killed and dragged away, exiled from everything, living failures, but I was fortunate enough to escape.”

“Fortunate, huh?” Did Leonhard suffer the same fate? Is that why he is scarred, too? “Those are bold words coming from someone who’s about to die.”

“But you said you would spare me, so it doesn’t matter, now does it?”

“I said I _may_ spare you. I never said it with any hint of certainty.” The same horrified look crept onto her face as I bent down, sword still at her chest. She closed her eyes and shifted her head to the side as I reached forward. Instead of touching her, I grabbed her twin scythes with my left hand. Both of the hilts were thin and lightweight, and I lifted them up and down before withdrawing my Claymore, collapsing it into a soul and placing it in my weapons case.

“I’ll be taking these with me. I rather like them.” I said softly, rather impressed by the scythes’ craftsmanship, and stood up.

“Listen well, Friede.” I looked down at her as she cautiously met my eyes. “Should humanity ever take the place of the gods, it would never be from such a corrupted standpoint like Londor or the Abyss. Humanity is better than that.”

“You don’t know.” She stated with a tinge of that sinister tone she always had. “You are not omnipotent. How can you know the future if you don’t fight for your own image of it?”

“You’re right, I don’t know.” I looked into her cold, dead eyes with my blazing golden ones. “But I do plan on fighting for it, once I’ve decided on what I wanted.” And with that, I swung the scythe across her neck, decapitating her.

 

——————

 

I had many questions that prevented me from getting any rest ever since leaving Ariandel.

The Hollows want to replace the gods, and Yuria tried to have me take the fire into myself for them.

It was always the same thing in every age. The Abyss tries to destroy the fabric of this very world, corrupting man left and right, only to be stopped for a brief time. Just like how the fire must be linked, the Abyss must be contained.

I sat down at one of the Farron Keep bonfires, the one closest to two giant doors and three lanterns, trying to make sense of everything. It was much more than the cycle. Not only will Darkwraiths try to fight for the fire, but now humans, too? And with the Age of Fire ending so quickly, they would take full advantage of the world’s vulnerability.

_‘The Abyss may be full of savage creatures, but they are most certainly not stupid’_

I jumped at the sudden sound in my head. It had been weeks since I’ve heard the voice from when I got the Red Eye Orb, so I wasn’t accustomed to hearing it.

_It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you._

_‘I know, right? Did you miss me?’_

_Hardly. Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?_

_‘You’re not going to sleep anytime soon. You have too much on your mind.’_

_Didn’t your mother teach you it was rude to intrude on other’s thoughts?_

_‘I am a part of you. It’s hard not to hear your thoughts.’_

I groaned. This was just perfect. Lack of sleep usually wouldn’t be an issue to Undead, but it did cause an inconvenience in battle if one were to go without it for too long, and not only did I have some shit to deal with, I have an annoying voice in my head to keep me awake.

_Do you have any reason to be bothering me now? You’ve had this whole month to be a pest, so why choose now?_

_‘Don’t you think I’d be curious, too? I figured you’d want my input on this ordeal.”_

_How thoughtful of you._

_‘Don’t mention it.’_

My mind went back to Friede and her scars. Could that really be possible? That there are others that tried to link the fire...and failed? Was Leonhard one of those people?

_‘There have been many ages, Chelsea. Many more than the five lords that you’re gathering in the shrine. It makes more sense that some succeeded in linking the fire and more that failed than having every one of them succeed.’_

_Yeah but I would think that they would be chosen like I was when I linked the fire._

_‘Not everyone has that luxury.’_

_I just can’t believe that Leonhard might possibly be one of those who failed._

_‘You can’t believe it, or you won’t believe it?’_

My inner expression turned towards the voice, and I raised an eyebrow.

_‘Don’t give me that look. You’re in love with the man. And when you’re in love, you don’t want to believe your lover isn’t invincible.’_

_I’m not in love with him._

_‘Sure. Tell yourself that. But you should see yourself when you’re with him, and how your body reacts. You can’t deny how you feel, no matter how hard you try.’_

_Can’t you do anything useful aside from antagonizing me?_

_‘Aside from giving you my input? Not much.’_

_If only you could put me to sleep._

_‘Oh, that I could do.’_

_Good. Get on that._

_‘Can I get a ‘please’?’_

I sighed. This voice was definitely a pain. _Please._

_‘Sure thing. Lay down and close your eyes.’_

I did as I was told, placing my satchel under my head as a pillow and let the bonfire act as my source of warmth.

_You’ll let me know if something decides to eat me, right?_

_‘Absolutely. The only way I can exist is if you stay alive.’_

_Good to know._

The voice lulled me to sleep, forcing images of Leonhard’s face into my head as I finally succumbed to my exhaustion.

 

——————

 

_‘Chelsea. Wake up.’_

_What?_

_‘Get up. We have company.’_

I shot up, pulling my new scythe off of my back and my Grass Crest Shield up to my chest. I cautiously walked out onto the ramp leading into the swamp, looking left and right for an enemy, but I didn’t see anything.

_I’m not seeing anything. You better not have woken me up for no reason._

_‘I saw something. I know I did. It was over by the basilisks.’_

_By the basilisks?? You have got to be kidding me._

_‘Less talking, more hoofing. The bonfire wouldn’t snuff out over nothing.’_

I looked over at the bonfire and the voice was right—there was barely a flicker coming from the bottom of the coiled sword fragment.

_Are you thinking what I’m thinking?_

_‘This is an invader.’ The voice agreed._

Perhaps Leonhard got tired of waiting and was playing around? _He does seem like a prankster,_ I thought.

I snuck past a few of the basilisks and made it inside of a cave where I found a sorcery scroll for Orbeck. If Leonhard was going to play games with me, it wouldn’t be near any of those frog bastards outside.

A few minutes passed, and the remaining basilisks hopped off somewhere, and I took the initiative to change my location. I wanted to stay hidden but I also wanted to find Leonhard myself and give him a hell of a talking-to.

_You see him anywhere?_

_‘No, not yet— wait, what’s that?’_

_What’s what—WOAH, SHIT!_

I rolled to my left as a beam of Farron Dart came rushing at me, inches from my face. I quickly stood up and collected myself to see a woman wearing a yellow turban on her head and carrying a pick in her right hand.

_‘An Oolacile sorceress? Perhaps she wants that scroll?’_

_Finder’s keepers. This scroll is for Orbeck, anyway._

_‘Talk to her and see what she wants.’_

I took a deep breath before I spoke. Maybe I can negotiate a truce, although from the looks of it, I could easily beat the woman in a fight.

“Uh, hey,” I started. “I’m sorry if you want this scroll. I promised someone I’d look for it so he can decipher it.”

“I’m not here for the scroll.” The sorceress had a high-pitched voice, full of fury. She lifted her Oolacile turban’s fabric above her eyes, and they were piercing into my own. No, she wasn’t after the scroll. She was after _me_.

_‘Chelsea, do you know this woman? From the looks of it, she knows you.’_

_No, I don’t. But whatever this is, this is personal._

I decided to play dumb to see if I can get a reason as to why she was here to kill me. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh, you can help me by dying. You took everything from me.”

_‘What is she talking about?’_

_Shush. I’m trying to find out._

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes, you do!” Her lips quivered, like she was about to cry. “You took my love away from me. My sweet Ringfinger...”

Ringfinger? “Are you talking about Leonhard?”

“Leonhard— You say his first name?” She shouted in anger and aimed another Dart at me. I rolled out of the way.

_I hate jealousy._

_‘Focus. Here comes another one.’_

I rolled away as she aimed another one. I slashed my scythe at her, the frostbite freezing the swamp water underneath her. She jumped out of the way, and she disappeared.

_She’s able to become invisible._

_‘You need to find a way to see her.’_

I racked my brain for options. How would I see an invisible foe? I thought back to when I fought Friede, and how she would disappear in a flurry of snow before catching me from behind with her scythe.

_That’s it._

I took the other scythe in my hand, the blade forming from the coldest ice. I spun around and laid down a layer of frost before spinning around, slashing at nothing for a few seconds before it connected with something.

“Augh!” The invader rolled back onto the layer of frost from the impact of the scythe, and the shards from the layer flew upwards, inflicting her with Frostbite.

“You bitch! How dare you strike me, the great Yellowfinger Heysel! You’ll die painfully for this!” She swung her pick at me, but I caught it in between the blades of my scythe. As she struggled to pull it lose, I kicked her into the water and struck her with a Sunlight Spear. She screamed out in pain from the impact of electricity.

“You’re a fucking _brute_! I don’t see how Ringfinger could fuck such a monster like you!”

Now, I was mad. I knew monsters and I hated being compared to them. “Well, I don’t see how he could be attracted to a whiny little bitch like you.”

“I’m going to rip that attitude out of your mouth!”

“I’d like to see you try!”

She kept firing Darts and swinging her pick, but I dodged each one. I didn’t see how she survived with such a shit weapon and weak sorceries, but I had to admit her effort was admirable.

“Gods, you’re slow. Do you really expect to kill me with attacks like that?”

“I made these sorceries myself. I am certain they will.”

“They are shit sorceries. I’ve been hit harder with pyromancies weaker than these.”

“Don’t insult me with your talk of pyromancies!”

Heysel swung her pick up again, obviously not learning from the first time she did that. Instead of catching it in my scythe blades, I grabbed it with my bare hands and pulled her forward, kneeing her square in her abdomen. She coughed from the impact, blood spewing from her mouth. I threw her weapon to the side and trudged forward. She crawled towards her weapon but I kicked it away. She looked at me, terrified. 

“You can’t beat me, Heysel. Lay down your hostility and I’ll spare you. I don’t wish to hurt a fellow Finger.”

“You don’t deserve to be associated with us! You don’t deserve Ringfinger, not like I do!”

“You’re not entitled to a person. The fact that you think in such a way means you are too selfish to truly love someone.”

“How would you know?” Heysel looked at me with tears in her eyes. They were filled with such pain and anguish. They were almost similar to my eyes when I lost Solaire.

I forced the pain aside, and I walked over to her weapon and picked it up. “You obviously won’t leave here without killing me, so I’m keeping this for now. Find your way back home on your own.”

“Hey give that back!” Heysel reached for her weapon as a blurred shadow jumped out from behind her. My eyes went wide as my mind registered what it was. A Darkwraith held it’s blade over it’s head, ready to strike us down. My eyes widened and filled with tears of my own out of fright, and by pure instinct, I swung my scythe and killed the Darkwraith.

I dropped my scythe and covered my face, shaking. No matter how many times I faced a Darkwraith, they still scared the shit out of me. My panic was interrupted by screaming, and I looked over at Heysel. Her left arm was completely severed off at the shoulder, the wound mostly covered in Frostbite as the rest bled out. I reached for her, and she snarled at me.

“GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DEMON! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME WITH YOUR DAMNED SCYTHE AND BLOODY EYES!”

_Bloody eyes? What the hell was she talking about?_

_‘Chelsea, look at your hands.’_

I did as the voice directed and much to my dismay, my hands were covered in blood. I felt my face, still wet from tears, and when I looked at them again, they were wet with fresh blood. _What the actual hell?_

Heysel crawled towards her weapon, and pulled out a Homeward Bone, disappearing back to wherever she came from. I still sat there on my knees in shock.

_‘You need to move.’_

I didn’t respond. I just sat there, staring at my hands, trying to process what was going on, unable to say or do anything.

_‘Chelsea, there are more Darkwraiths. You need to move! NOW!’_

I snapped out of it and grabbed my weapons, and moved towards a door on the perimeter of Farron Keep. I pulled it open and collapsed at the bonfire. The last thing I remember is passing out.

 

——————

 

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of Gru howling from their daily hunt. I shot up and looked around in a panic. _How did I get here?_

_‘You awake?’_

_Yeah. What the hell happened?_

_‘Well, you got invaded by a jealous woman, got interrupted by a Darkwraith, and in the middle of killing it, you sliced off the woman’s arm and started crying blood out of fear.’_

_Are you serious?_

My mind immediately started to flood with memories of when I was previously awake. I remember hearing the cries of wounded Heysel and my shock as I saw the remnants of bloody tears on my hands. I sat up, using my scythe as leverage. My body felt so stiff, but I bared against it as I collected my belongings.

_‘So what do you plan on doing?’_

_Continuing my journey. I need armor before going to the Cathedral._

_‘You’re not going to look into this whole thing?’_

_Why would I? There’s nothing I can do about it right now._

_‘If that’s what you’re choosing, then I won’t object.’_

_Glad that I have your permission._

I snuck past the Darkwraiths outside and killed a few Grus before finding a set of double doors. Behind the doors, it unmistakably sounded like a battle, the sound of loud clanging of metal and grunting coming from within.

_‘There’s a huge enemy in there.’_

_Sounds like it._

I pushed open the heavy doors and walked through them to find a knight in black-leather armor stabbing another wearing the same set.

_Are those who I think they are?_

_‘Yes. The Abyss Watchers.’_

The first Abyss Watcher pulled his greatsword out of the second, and turned towards me. It held it’s sword out towards me, and placed his left hand over it, his dagger point up. I didn’t know much about the Watchers aside from the fact that they carried on Knight Artorias’s legacy, but I sure as hell know what that meant.

The Watcher charged at me, and I guarded against his attack. I swung my scythe up and he dodged it with ease.

_‘He isn’t your typical enemy.’_

_I am aware._

We both traded blows, causing major damage. I had to take several swigs of my Estus. Another Watcher joined him, and a third came to kill them both.

_They’re fighting each other? Why?_

_‘They fight the Abyss, quashing the darkness. But as all things that fight the Abyss do, they succumb to it eventually.’_

_If all they fight is the Abyss, then why are they fighting me?_

Before the voice could respond, the last Abyss Watcher collapsed, seemingly dead. I started to relax, but then dark, bloody embers rose from the corpses of the other Watchers into the one that fell. It then stood, filled with the essence of his fallen brothers, and became Embered.

_‘He can kill you like this.’_

_I know._

I used an Ember on myself, leveling the playing field. We were going to fight this, man to man, Lord to Lord. One of us were going to die, and it wasn’t going to be me.

He came at me with his greatsword, now sending flames my way. I countered it, trading blows like before, but instead of fire, I used lightning. He staggered from the impact, and then charged. We began trading blows again and again. It was a duel to the death.

_‘The Abyss...we must fight it...’_

_What the hell are you talking about?_

The voice shook it’s proverbial head. _‘That wasn’t me.’_

_Well then who was it?_

_‘For our Master Artorias...We must fight until it’s gone.’_

_The Abyss Watchers...are they speaking to me?_

_‘Seems like it,’_ The voice responded.

_‘Keeper of the Dark Soul...Chosen Undead...your soul is the essence of the Abyss.’_

Chosen Undead... now that was a name I haven’t heard in a long time.

_Hey, what the hell is he talking about?_

_‘How should I know?’_ The voice retorted, _‘Hey watch your left!’_

_‘For that, you must DIE.’_

The Abyss Watcher struck again but I managed to parry and then landed a riposte on him. He collapsed from the attack, ultimately ending him. The Embers snuffed out and his body faded into ash until all but cinders in the shape of their heads remained. I had defeated my first Lord of Cinder, and while I should feel victorious, I actually felt exhausted. I walked over to the bonfire that recently appeared. I sat down and rested, replenishing my resources.

_‘And here I doubted you. You might possibly save the world.’_

_I would agree with you if things were as simple as I thought._

_‘What do you mean?’_

_The Abyss Watcher called me ‘Chosen Undead’. No one knows me by that name, not in this age. And he said that I was the Keeper of the Dark Soul, and I have the essence of the Abyss? What the hell is going on?_

For once, the voice was silent. Suspiciously, so. I pressed for more answers.

_You know something, don’t you?_

The voice was silent still, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think it went away for good.

_Fine. Have it your way. I’ll figure it out myself._

I stood and activated the bonfire, picturing the Shrine in my head and transported there. Upon my arrival, I strengthened myself with the Firekeeper and gave the scroll to Orbeck, much to both of their delight. I walked over to the Shrine Handmaiden to replenish on some of my materials when she spoke.

“Ah, you have defeated the Abyss Watchers have you?” I smiled in response. “Yes, I have.”

“Might I interest you in some of my new wares, then? I think it to be a good reward for your hard work.” She pulled out a box from under her chair and opened it, and to my surprise, inside was the Abyss Watcher’s Undead Legion armor. “I think this would suit you, if you chose to buy it. I know you’ve been seeking new armor, and a woman such as yourself would look dashing in it.”

I smiled warmly. While I knew I’d still have to pay for it, the fact that she went out of her way to collect this for me meant a lot. “I...have many questions regarding them, but as far as the way they look, I suppose I’ll indulge you.”

I gave her the souls for each piece (aside from the head piece because I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such a ridiculous looking thing) and looked at myself in a mirror she provided. The set looked great on my body, accentuating my curves and limbs, and it brought out the crimson in my hair. I felt...proud in this armor, like how I did when I wore Ornstein’s armor all those ages ago. For once, I felt like a Lord of Cinder.

The Handmaiden interrupted my thoughts. “Shall I take the robe off of your hands?” She offered as she held her hands out to me. 

“Ah...,” I looked at the cleric robes that Leonhard gave me. They served me well and I almost felt guilty that I wasn’t wearing them anymore. “No, I don’t think I should. These were given to me and I wouldn’t feel right selling them.”

“As you wish.” The Handmaiden smiled warmly as she waved me off.

I made my way over to the bonfire and envisioned my destination. As the haze from the bonfire rose, readying itself to take me over to the Cathedral once again, I thought about everything that I found out within the last two weeks.

So much information that harbored so many questions that I wasn’t going to find out anytime soon. But there was one thing for sure.

There was something more going on here than I previously thought.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was EXTREMELY long and it’s 3 in the morning as I’m posting it.
> 
> I plan on writing the next one soon, and I also plan on redoing the first chapter since the way it was written made it originally a one-shot, but now I wanna make it flow more with the rest of the story.
> 
> Next chapter, Chelsea goes through the Cathedral of the Deep to meet with Leonhard and seek out the next Lord of Cinder on her list, Aldrich, Saint of the Deep, who is rumored to be hiding alongside his casket. Along the way, she has some unexpected reunions beforehand, including Anri of Astora and Horace the Hushed, and another from her first time being an Undead. I wonder what the purpose of their sudden arrival would be?
> 
> Strap in, boys, because this one’s gonna be an emotional ride.


	6. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chelsea teams up with Anri and Horace to try and fight Aldrich, Saint of the Deep, but instead of finding him, they find the Deacons of the Deep instead.
> 
> Later on, Chelsea meets a familiar face, and whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant depends solely on the familiar face’s true intentions. 
> 
> This chapter is in three different parts, shown from Leonhard’s and Chelsea’s perspectives.

_Part 1: Leonhard_

Leonhard leaned against Rosaria’s bed frame, pondering about the situation the covenant was in. Heysel was still sedated while her wounds healed. Under normal circumstances, she would be up and about after the four days of healing, but whenever the Vow of Silence wore of, she would wake up enraged, her movements threatening to pull out her stitches. Someone always had to keep watch, and that someone had to be Kirk, given that the only other person who could use miracles at such a high caliber was Leonhard himself, and everyone knew how that would end.

“It’s fine,” Kirk stated as Leonhard apologized to him. “It gives me something to do aside from moping about. But for you to apologize is a rarity, so that alone makes up for the effort I’m about to put in.”

 _A rarity, indeed,_ he thought. Had he changed from being around Chelsea so much? He wasn’t sure if he liked these changes, as they broke down his his cold and uncaring facade. He didn’t want the other members to mistake him for having a heart. But how can he go back now? He was actually happy for the first time in... _forever_...because of her.

“Codependency is a dangerous thing, isn’t it, Rosaria?” He turned to look up at the large woman. She couldn’t say anything due to her being without a tongue. Instead, she reached for him and rubbed his back, letting him know she was listening. She was always there to listen to her Fingers. It was the least she can do for her “children”, as everyone put it.

“I’ll take your motherly affection to be a ‘no’, then...” Leonhard quirked a small smile under his mask before looking away. “So given how her alliance with us has caused us to be in shambles at the moment, I assume that you plan on having us do away with her?” He knew her answer before she responded. Rosaria made her way to the edge of the bed, feet dangling off the ground, and craned her neck to where she was looking at him. Her eyes peered from behind her black locks, a small smile curled on her lips.

“No, of course not,” He chuckled, “You’ve grown tired of me being a depressing little bastard, hm?” Rosaria giggled quietly. It wasn’t that. She was just glad he was happy.

“So how do we fix this? If you don’t think it’s our new ally’s fault for this, then how do we punish the real perpetrators?” Rosaria shook her head in response to his question. “So you think their current situation is more than enough? Fine by me.” Leonhard stood up from the frame and made his way out of the bedchamber and over to his room. Before disabling the illusory wall, he noticed that Kirk was resting on his elbows over the railing, overlooking the cathedral.

“Longfinger?” Kirk looked up at Leonhard, regarding his presence. “Ah, Ringfinger,” He stood up straight and took off one of his gloves to wipe away some dust from his eye. “Yellowfinger woke up not too long ago, but she hasn’t made any notion to get up like she has before. I think she has finally given up her idea of bloodlust.”

“I see.” Leonhard looked over at Kirk. He looked exhausted. Having to deal with Heysel had taken a toll on him. She must have caused him a lot trouble over the past several days. Again, he wanted to apologize but before he could, Kirk spoke.

“What did you say was the name of the woman? Chelsea, was it?” Kirk ran over the thorns of his glove with his bare, calloused thumb. It pricked a little bit of the skin, but it didn’t seem to bother Kirk. But it bothered Leonhard that Kirk was suddenly asking about his lover.

“Yes, why?” Leonhard stiffened as he answered. “You’re not planning to—“

“Kill her?” Kirk finished his question. “No. Even if I wanted to, she could easily kill me, it seems. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Then what do you plan to do, Longfinger? Just invade? Why go through the trouble?” Kirk smiled at him, and it wasn’t his usual muse. It was a sad smile, one that Leonhard couldn’t quite fathom. Kirk stared at him for a long moment before answering. “Because I’ve been rather curious about her abilities and I want to confirm a few things.”

“So you’re using this as an opportunity to test her worth?”

“Hmm...yes and no.” Kirk walked past Leonhard, turning his head back to him. “You wouldn’t understand. But regardless, she will be safe, at least, if she is as strong as what we’ve seen with Yellowfinger.”

As Kirk walked out of sight, Leonhard could only stare after him. For Kirk to show a sudden interest in something, especially Chelsea, was truly unexpected. At first, he wondered if Kirk was lying, and thought about going after him. But in all the years he’s known Kirk, not once did he lie to him, nor saw a reason to. Perhaps, he was excited about the strong newcomer? No, Leonhard knew exactly what was going on. And he knew in just a few short hours, he would have to take up his end of a promise he made many years past.

——————

_Part 2: Chelsea_

“Come on now, Anri! Put your back into it!”

“Alright then! Horace, I’m giving this one my all!”

I leaned back against the altar in front of Saint Aldrich’s tomb, watching the friendly spar between two knights as they prepared to fight against the next Lord of Cinder who ran from his throne. Anri, a young man from Astora who was only a year or so younger than me, and Horace, another man who accompanied him, set their sights on Aldrich. Their reasons weren’t clear, but I could tell that they really wanted him dead. However, they were practically new to combat, and upon my arrival at the tomb, they were nervous as all hell, so I offered to give them tips and referee a few practice runs.

Anri came running up on Horace, ready to strike, but Horace was quick. He held his Llewellyn Shield against Anri’s blow and then quickly stepped behind him and performed a backstab with his halberd. Luckily, Anri’s Elite Knight Armor allowed him to take the hit with no problem, but he was still making errors and I had to stop the fight for a moment. Horace was showing mercy in not dealing fatal blows, but once we entered the fog to fight Aldrich, it would be an entirely different scenario. At this rate, neither of them would stand a chance.

“Alright, time out.” I called as I kicked myself off the wall. Horace immediately backed off as Anri sat up on his knees, removing his helm. His long, sandy blond hair was sticking to his forehead as sweat dripped off his exhausted face. He looked up at me as he caught his breath with earthy brown eyes, speaking in between breaths. “Ah, I am sorry for disappointing you. I’m not the best when it comes to fighting.”

“Well, if that were true, you wouldn’t have come this far, now would you?” I offered him my Estus and he eagerly took it and gulped down a swig or two. I didn’t have much need for it, and worse case scenario, I could just off one of the Cathedral Knights to be blessed with a reimbursement.

“I don’t know about that. I would have given up this cursed journey a long time ago if it weren’t for Horace, here.” Horace grunted in response. Whenever I met them down by the Road of Sacrifices a few weeks ago, Anri had said the same thing, to which Horace responded with a grunt such as this. I shook my head with a smile.

“I think Horace is saying that you don’t give yourself enough credit.” I looked over at the black-clad knight to confirm. “Isn’t that right, Horace?” Horace made a short grunt a few nods. He knew what Anri was capable of. “See? I told you.”

Anri chuckled and swept his hair back. “Well, you both have a lot of faith in me, maybe a bit too much. I was giving that my all, and it still wasn’t enough.” He looked at the ground with a crooked smile. He wasn’t defeated; just a little discouraged, was all. It happened to the best of us. In a way, he and Horace reminded me of myself when I was first Undead. I wasn’t the best at fighting either, but I had many allies that taught me a few things, and many more enemies that tested what I learned. If it weren’t for them, I don’t know where I’d be. It was then that I had an idea.

“Why don’t the both of you fight me, then?” Both of them looked at me, startled at my suggestion.

“No, we couldn’t possibly. We wouldn’t want to hurt you before taking on Aldrich. After all, you need his cinders. We don’t want to hinder you from that.” Anri replied, and Horace groaned softly in agreement.

“Trust me. I’ve been at this for a long time. You won’t hinder me in any way.” I drew my Claymore out and held it in both of my hands. “Besides, don’t you think you’d be better off fighting a friend you just made or one you’ve had for a long time?”

“You’re saying I’m not doing well because I’m fighting Horace?”

“That is exactly what I’m saying.” I beckoned both of them over in my direction. “Both of you come at me, unless you’re chicken.”

Anri looked over at Horace, and after a silent agreement, he stood up and put on his helm. He picked up his weapons, assumed his stance, and at his queue, both he and Horace charged. They both had their shields up, so I didn’t strike. Instead, I quickly moved to Anri’s left and nicked him a few times in the sides. It didn’t hurt him, but it was enough to cause a reaction. He spun around and slashed at me, and if I weren’t as quick as I was with drawing my shield off my back, he definitely would have struck my face with more than a graze.

Horace came soon after, his halberd’s sharp tip poking me a bit in my stomach. The chain mail underneath the Undead Legion armor braced the hit, but I knew it would be bruised later. I was amazed at the sudden change. All they needed was a change in opponent to see that they were good. But I wasn’t willing to give them praise, yet.

“You two seemed to be doing well against a sword, but I wonder how you would fair against a scythe.” According to some passing information given to me from Hawkwood, Aldrich carried the Lifehunt Scythe. How he managed to get it was unknown, as it was given to Priscilla the Crossbreed, but the point was that he had it, and this would make for very good practice. I drew both of the scythes out, coating them in Frostbite and I lunged at Anri. I went to hit him with it, but he had other plans. Instead of charging forward, or even making an attempt to parry, he kicked his leg out and landed his foot right into my chest. I staggered backwards as he slashed at my chest, causing a significant blow which made me land on my back. I went to get up, but Horace’s halberd came up near my throat, right by my jugular, with Anri’s sword coming right beside it. I looked up at them in amused bewilderment. Turns out, I was right, as usual.

“Well, I’d say the both of you are more than ready to fight Aldrich.” I held my hands up in surrender. They definitely earned this victory. Anri and Horace both sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank the Gods. I wasn’t sure we’d win that. You’re quite skilled.” Horace nodded as they both collapsed to the floor. We all needed a breather after that. Anri and Horace went to reach for their Estus, but I stopped them and took out my chime and casted a Great Heal on all three of us. “No use in wasting Estus when we have one more fight today.”

“Right.” Anri looked over at the fog. He had a new expression of determination. He stood up along with Horace, and offered me his hand. I took it with a smirk and hoisted myself up. After collecting our weapons, we gave each other a wordless nod before we all entered the fog.

But our moment of determination was instantly cut short.

“This...doesn’t seem right.” I murmured.

“No it can’t be!” Where we thought Aldrich would be was an open casket, devoid of him or his corpse. Horace and Anri hurriedly checked around the room for any sign of the Lord, but came up with nothing.

“How could this be? We thought for sure he’d be here!” Anri’s hands clutched at his helm as Horace shook with anxiety. They were as shocked as I was. If Aldrich wasn’t here, then I couldn’t get his cinders, and I had no idea of where he could possibly be found.

“Calm down, the both of you.” I had to be the one to think logically since the other two were panicking.

 _If I weren’t here, then how would they have fared?_ I wondered. _Probably not well._ “Are there any other places that Aldrich could be?”

“Um...” Anri breathed in slowly to calm himself and think, “His home is in Irithyll, but we can’t go there since it’s guarded by one of the Pontiff’s beasts, and even he wasn’t there, a barrier blocks anyone from entering aside from Aldrich.”

 _Pontiff? Barrier?_ “Look, from my experience, barriers can’t be made without a way to break them. Like with an illusory wall, you would have to attack it. However barriers are stronger, and act as a door. You would need something to act as a key.”

“You think there’s a key lying around here? But Horace and I searched everywhere and we didn’t find one!” Anri looked away forlornly and Horace moaned softly. But I wasn’t going to give up yet. “Then I say we go around and kill every one of these pathetic excuses for clerics and demand that they give us the key.”

“I don’t think that would be in your best interest.”

The three of us spun at the sound of a red glow rising up from the base of Aldrich’s casket. The glow took the form of some of the clerics in the Cathedral, but there was something different about them. The red glow flickered off one of them, and he spoke while the others remained silent. “If you killed any more of our kind, well, we would have to do away with you, hm?”

“Chelsea...” Anri whispered, “Those aren’t typical clerics. Those are _deacons_. They’re the Deacons of the Deep!”

“Right you are, little Anri.” The deacon that spoke turned to him. “It’s been so long. How kind of you to show up, and with Horace too! Perhaps you’d make a nice meal for Saint Aldrich, with the woman as a lovely dessert. I only hope none of you have spoiled.” Anri and Horace froze in fear upon hearing him speak, obviously triggering some sort of trauma. _What the hell did these poor boys go through?_

“Unfortunately, I don’t think your Aldrich would enjoy me very much.” I drew my scythe and pulled out a shield that I had been waiting to use in a situation like this, a Black Knight’s Shield. It complimented Friede’s scythe well as I was able to guard but also use my weapon to it’s fullest potential without having to put away my protection. “I’m an acquired taste that only one person has come to enjoy.”

“Ah, what a mouthy little woman you are. Surely you would know to have some modesty, wouldn’t you now, my fellow cleric?”

“I am not one to hold my tongue.”

“Then I suppose we would have to rip it out for you.”

“That’s my line.”

I struck at the deacon and he fell back with my blow. The red glow from him rose above his fading body and transferred to the deacon beside him. _What in the...?_ Then it hit me; these deacons were scapegoats for the real one.

“Anri,” I said, and he looked over at me. “I need your help fighting these guys. They are just here to hide the actual deacon. I need you and Horace to help me get rid of them so we can finally get that key.”

“I...” The both of them were still shaken from what the deacons said earlier. I felt them, I really did, but I had to push them to do this.

“Look, I don’t know what happened with Aldrich, but we can’t beat him until we get the key from these bastards.” I grabbed his shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. “But whatever you and Horace suffered from back then, I’ll shoulder your burden. I know you’re scared. You both went through some shit. But I’ll carry the both of you through this if I have to. You aren’t going to do this alone, understand me?”

“You’d...you’d do that for us?”

“Yes. It’s a promise. To both of you.” I smiled at them both. “Now, c’mon. More of them are here and I really don’t want to be here all day. We have a shitty Lord to hunt down.”

“Right.” Anri looked over at Horace and both of them drew their weapons. With a shout, we all charged. I started coating the ground with ice and made short work out of the deacons with both of my scythes. Horace made quick jabs at them and after a hit or two to each one, they fell like flies. Anri hit them with his straight sword with quick precision, downing each and every one with ease. After each died, the red orb would transfer to another, and we targeted that one.

“C’mon, you’re boring us with this bullshit.” I slashed at the next wave of deacons, easily felling them. “Why don’t you show your real self instead of being a coward?”

“If that is what you wish...” In the center of the deacons rose a new horde of them with what looked to be a pope in the middle of them. In the cluster of blue was a little man adorning golden robes. He was definitely their leader, or second in command behind Aldrich, rather. I scoffed at them. “I said to stop being a coward, and yet you come in here behind more of your cronies? Don’t you think that’s funny Anri? Horace?”

“Sure, I suppose.” Anri dashed over to the horde of deacons and made his way to the pope in the middle. Horace swiped hard at the remaining deacons and started making short work of him as well.

“You know, boys, I was hoping for a more enthusiastic response.” I switched to my Claymore and started laying heavy damage on the pope.

“You’ll never reach Saint Aldrich...I swear it on my life! You’ll be eaten alive, gnawed slowly, chewed limb from limb inside his jaws!” The pope howled as he casted dark magic and fire spells at us, but it was futile. Anri and Horace quickly dodged the magic and both impaled the pope at the same time.

“I wouldn’t make promises on something you’ve easily lost. It isn’t in your best interest.” Anri growled, repeating what the pope had said when he made his appearance, driving his blade harder into him until both he and Horace choked his last breath out of him. The pope fell the floor, his corpse faded away. All that was left were his robes and a little doll, one for each of us. They picked up what was left of him, and looked over at me, and I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer.

“What did I tell the both of you? I knew you could do it!” I gave them each a clap on their shoulders. Another victory was earned.

“We couldn’t have done it without you, Chelsea.” They both took off their helms, each showing their bashful grins. “If you hadn’t talked us out of our um...sudden change of mood, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“Well, just remember. I’ll be around whenever you need me. So if you need help, come find me.”

“We will.” Anri looked over at Horace, and Horace gave me a thumbs up.

“So about this doll...” I said, “I wonder what it even is.”

“I think it might be the key you were talking about. We will have to look over it at the shrine after we rest a bit.”

“I see. Well, do be careful, alright?”

“You aren’t joining us?” Anri cocked his head as Horace raised an eyebrow.

“No,” I said, “I have an appointment to keep at the Rosaria’s Fingers covenant.” As soon as I said that, both of them went rigid. That wasn’t a reaction I expected.

“You’re joining Rosaria’s Fingers?” Anri asked me quietly.

“Well, yeah,” I replied. “I’ve actually been a member for a while now.” _What’s up with their reaction?_ “Why do you ask?”

“The thing is, Chelsea,” Anri began, with a saddened look on both of their faces. “Is that we are Blue Sentinels. Rosaria’s Fingers are our sworn enemies. They collect tongues for their Lady. That’s why Horace can’t talk.” Horace grunted sadly. _Ah, now I know why they’re being like that..._

“I don’t think you have to worry about anything like that with me.” I said, “After all, I made a promise to help you both on your quest and I don’t feel like breaking it.”

“You’re still going to? Oh thank heavens...I don’t think we’d be any match for you in a real fight.” They both sighed in relief.

“I don’t know...you both had me on the ground earlier...”

“Which is why I said ‘in a real fight’.” Anri laughed. I laughed in return. “You got me there. Anyway, get some rest, the both of you.”

“Alright. Perhaps we will see you in a few days?”

I thought for a second. Knowing that I was going to meet with Leonhard after almost three weeks of making my way out here, I’m sure he would make it hard for me to want to leave. I had an idea of _what_ we were going to do, and the thought of it caused a small pulse to reverberate from between my thighs and shoot up my spine. The sensation almost made me moan in response, but I managed to stifle it.

“If I’m not, come back and get me, okay? I’ll make sure no one bothers you, either.”

“Alright, Chelsea. Be safe, and may the flames guide your way.”

“You too, Anri. Horace.” Without any further ado, they reached inside their bags and used a Homeward Bone back to the shrine.

As soon as they disappeared from sight, I very uncharacteristically and very giddily made my way up the stairs from the tomb and down the steps from where one of the giants used to rest. All of the enemies in this area were slain, so I could find my way to Rosaria without any trouble. I was so excited that after these last few grueling weeks of challenging battles and some odd information that presented more questions than answers, I could finally unwind and relax with Leonhard.

But why was I so happy all of a sudden? Was it really so simple as to the fact that I don’t have to worry about anything for a little while?

Or maybe... _just maybe_...I was actually in love with Leonhard, and that I couldn’t wait to see him?

_You know, Voice, you may be a deceptive little shit, but I think you may have gotten me on this one._

The voice didn’t give a response, but I did feel a small rumble from the back of my conscience.

“So you can hear me after all? Well, that’s good to know, but try to keep to yourself for a few days, okay?”

“Just who are you talking to, young miss?” I jumped at the sudden voice that was neither mine nor the one in my head. And the jump wasn’t from thinking I was alone, but rather from upon hearing it from someone who I knew from many ages ago, the first age. Someone being the only one to address me as “young miss”. Someone who had fought me several times even though he could never best me, no matter how many times he tried. Someone who I thought was _dead_.

The familiar man, a knight in armor made of thorns, strode towards me, weapons at the ready. He was exactly as I remembered him all those times we fought. “You know, I wasn’t too sure of who you were until you ripped off Yellowfinger’s left arm. I’m surprised to see you here, and even more surprised to see Ringfinger taking an interest in you. But then again, you would make a great asset to Rosaria, wouldn’t you?”

“Kirk,” I grimaced. “So when Leonhard mentioned a Darkwraith, he meant you. Aren’t you supposed to be rotting inside your corpse? Or did Eingyi find a way to preserve your body and animate it?”

“Neither. The body I left was ah...someone else’s. Although, it did look a lot like me. I had to cut my hair a bit and make a nice little wig out of it. Seems like it did the trick.”

“Uh-huh. So why are you here? Did Leonhard send you to find me? I didn’t think he was lying when he said he was patient.”

“See, there you go again. Calling him ‘Leonhard’. You do realize that’s taboo in our covenant, right? To call a Finger something other than their title, especially as something as intimate as their name, is like having a death wish. It shows a lack of respect.” Well that explains why Heysel got all pissed with me when I said his name. She was jealous that I was intimate in a way she was not. “But no, I’m not here because he sent me. I’m here on my own accord.”

“And what, pray tell, is that?” I already had an idea of what it was.

“One last fight against you.” He raised his Barbed Straight Sword at me. “One last attempt to reclaim my honor for my Lady.”

“Again with this?” I scoffed. “When will you learn that you can’t beat me, you old crone?”

“I have been alive for many ages, young miss. I’ve learned a great deal since you linked the fire. But you have just risen. Again, I might add. Which reminds me...” He sneered under his helm. I could hear it from over where I was. “Whatever happened with that Sunlight Warrior? The one going on about finding his own sun.”

I swallowed hard. He was really asking for it. “He’s dead.”

“Ah...well, that’s a shame. I’m sure if you stayed with him, the both of you would have linked the fire together. If I were in your position, I’d blame myself all the time for his death.”

“You son of a—! I’LL KILL YOU!” I leapt at Kirk with both of my scythes in hand, causing wave after wave of slashes of frost. He managed to block some of my attacks, but the ones he didn’t block, he managed to trade damage with me. I knew all along this was what he wanted. He was cunning and charismatic. He knew exactly how to get a rise out his opponents. I knew it so well, and while I gave in to his instigation, I was going to make him pay for it.

Kirk kept striking me with his sword, causing me to bleed out. I could easily take his attacks alone, but Bleed itself was a problem. I was losing my vitality as he did a number on my body.

_No...I’m not losing to you. Leonhard is waiting for me. I didn’t go through all this shit during the last few weeks to just not see him._

“Take this, you bastard!” I focused my power into my chime and held it in front of me with one hand while the other drew back. The crackling of lightning filled my ears as I aimed my spell at him, and once I was certain it would hit my target, I let loose a volley of the holy arrows at him. They each collided into him, knocking him down. He tried to sit up, but could only rest on an elbow.

“What...exactly did you just do to me, young miss?” Kirk wheezed as he recovered from my attack.

“It’s called Lightning Arrow. I used it a very long time ago...from our last fight, actually. I learned it from my father when I was still a mortal child.” I knelt down next to him. “Now could you lie still so I can kill you?”

“Hmmm...” Kirk hummed in thought. “No, I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“What the— you don’t think you deserve to die after what you said to me?!”

“I was only trying to get a rise out of you. Forgive me.” He reached up to take off of his helm.

“Why should I forgive yo— Oh lords...” Kirk revealed his face to me. He was pale, with the darkest of circles under his eyes. On his face and down his neck were several patches of decaying skin, some of it rotting, some of it dropping in little flakes. _Kirk was going Hollow_.

“After Quelaan died from the egg parasite, I was desperately looking for another purpose. With you not being around anymore to fight and get my revenge, my options were limited. After several centuries, I came to the conclusion that I no longer had one.” He looked down forlornly at his feet as he recounted everything since then and now. “It was then that I came across Rosaria. She not only offered me purpose, but a home to return to.

“She wasn’t my Quelaan... No one could ever replace her. But she was there to offer me refuge. And that was more than enough for a time. I invaded for her and served her to show my gratitude.

“Leonhard came a short time after. He was a lot different back then, a lot more hostile, but now he’s calmer. _Happier_. And not nearly as lustful for blood. Once I heard about you, it raised many questions. I wondered if it was actually you. I knew I was Hollowing, and I knew I couldn’t beat you. I am sorry I said the things I said to rile you up, but as my final wish, before he held his end of the promise we made long ago, I had to have one last fight with you.”

I sat there in silence, not sure of what to say. He suffered just as I did. Losing his love, unable to do anything about it. In some ways, I was stronger. I could kick his ass in a fight any day. But to carry on for so long after losing hope in everything, and managing to find another purpose to keep him going, at least until now...he had me beat. I always found combat to be much easier than matters of the heart, but Kirk made it so easy. I envied him.

“I’m sorry for...” I started to cry. I hated how I felt. I could kill him and rid him out of my life and never look back as if he didn’t exist. But I knew exactly what he was going through. And now because of me, he was becoming Hollow so soon.

“This was long overdue, young miss. If anything, I want to thank you for giving this old man one last battle. Although I lost each and every time, my best battles were the ones where you were on the other end of my blade.”

“Yeah, but still...” He then went to wipe a tear from my eye, and I almost forgot that they were of blood.

“So it is true what Yellowfinger was saying, except that you didn’t go insane with me when you started to cry, but rather you’re in sorrow.”

“The first time this happened, we were almost attacked by a Darkwraith and I panicked.”

“You’ve always been fearful of them...” He said, lost in thought. “I wonder what causes this. Sadly, I don’t have the time to look into it.” Kirk made his way onto his feet, unable to pick up his weapons. I picked them up and tried to give them to him, but he shook his head.

“Keep them. I don’t need them anymore.” I hesitated, but he looked as if he meant it. So I collapsed it down and placed it in my weapons case. He dug out a Homeward Bone, but before he used it, he spoke. “I assume you don’t want Leonhard to know your secret?” He pointed to his eyes, and I knew what he meant.

“No, not until I figure out why it happens. For all I know, it could be because I am Lord.”

“Ah, I see. But just so you know...” He paused as he coughed, more flakes of decay falling from his face, “He despises the Lords of Cinder.”

 _What?_ “What do you mean? Why?”

“You don’t know? Well, I’m not surprised. He wouldn’t tell anyone this, let alone his lover, but since you are a Lord that he just so happens to be in love with, I’ll fill you in,” He coughed again before saying, “It’s because he failed to link the fire, and he has had a hatred for the Lords since then.”

 _Oh, Gods...just like Friede..._ “Is that why he has burns on his face?”

“He’s allowed you to see his face? He must really, really love you...But yes, that’s why they’re on his face and most of his body.” Kirk stated flatly.

 _So it was true, after all._ _And what’s worse is that I indirectly caused it._

If what Kirk says is true, about him loving me, then I don’t know how I’d reciprocate those feelings knowing that he would hate me if he knew. A part of me wanted to avoid him, but a sharp pain pierced through my chest, like how I think about Solaire’s death, and I... _oh gods_ , I don’t think I could.

“How do I tell him?” I asked softly.

“Well, you could always hide it from him. He really wouldn’t know the difference, although your battle prowess definitely could outrank enemies most people would struggle against.”

“But it’s not right...” I hung my head down. The idea of hiding it from him felt dirty to me. I didn’t want to be dishonest. But I also didn’t want to lose him. “I wouldn’t feel right hiding something like that from him.”

“Well, that’s your choice to make isn’t it?” Kirk replied. “Making choices and weighing options is all a part of life. Whether you’re a Lord, an Unkindled, or even a God. We all have to make choices. It’s almost as certain as death.

“In any case, I have to return to Rosaria and give her and Leonhard one last farewell. Despite his initial hostility to me, and everyone else at the time aside from our Lady, we actually managed to become good friends.”

“I wish that...” _Oh how could I say something so selfish?_ “I wish that maybe you and I could have been better friends.”

“What are you talking about? We always were.” _Huh?_ “Sure, it was a rather interesting relationship we had going, and we always saw each other as enemies, but in the end, I see us as great friends.” I sniffed, holding back more tears.

“I am honored, Kirk...Truly, I am.”

“May the flames guide your way, Chelsea. And I hope that in your travels and at the end of your journey, both you and Leonhard will find peace in each other.”

“I hope so too.”

He then used his Homeward Bone back to wherever in the cathedral Rosaria was. Throughout the time finding my way there, I was lost in thought as to what he said about Leonhard, and how I was going to tell him about being a Lord of Cinder, if I ever really tell him at all.

——————

_Part 3: Leonhard_

Leonhard had been waiting on Kirk’s return ever since he left to invade Chelsea. It had been one? Maybe two hours? Maybe even longer. He paced around the bed chamber, Rosaria looking worriedly after him, and it wasn’t until the haze from the bonfire that he finally calmed down. He rushed over to Kirk, who was bent over on his hands and knees, obviously overwhelmed from the invasion.

“Come on...you have to help me pull you up. I can’t lift you all by myself with that heavy armor of yours.” Leonhard huffed as he lifted Kirk over his shoulders.

“Hah...what can I say? This armor has served me well over the years. Sit me over there. Yes...by the grating...” Kirk collapsed against the metal bars and sat upright against them. Leonhard watched him as he pulled his helm off only to see the familiar decaying patches of skin on his face.

“Longfinger, you’re Hollowing...”

“Yes, well, we knew it would happen soon, didn’t we?”

“I don’t understand...did she cause this?” He knew Chelsea was strong but to Hollow someone out would mean you would either be a Darkwraith or have an absurd amount of strength, and he knew which one wasn’t the case.

“Oh no...I was like this since this morning, although it wasn’t nearly as worse then as it is now.” Kirk coughed. “But she did give me quite the battle. You should be proud to have her.” Leonhard stayed silent knowing that the time had come for him to fulfill his promise. But he almost didn’t want to, at least not yet. He wasn’t ready.

“I would rather you do it now than later, Ringfinger. Every second that passes makes me more of a risk.”

“But Longfinger, I...”

“Oh, what is this ‘Longfinger’ business? Do this old man a favor and call me by my name. We have been friends for so long. At least let me give the man that fulfills my dying wish the courtesy of brotherly affection.”

“Kirk...” Leonhard swallowed, saying his compatriot’s name only because he requested it, not because he wanted to. “I was never one to care for family...”

“You do care for it, and if you really don’t, you better start soon. You and that woman would make beautiful children...” He coughed harder and Leonhard bent down to hold him steady, a little flushed from Kirk’s last comment. Rosaria climbed down from her bed and embraced them both, wanting to be there in her first knight’s final moments.

“You know...the both of you...I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you, despite you being a prick to me at first.” He chuckled weakly as he looked over at Leonhard. “I never thought I’d get a second chance at life, and here I am at the end of my rope. The both of you gave me family. If Quelaan were here, she’d say the same thing, although I don’t know if you’d understand her with her Old Witch’s tongue.

“Thank you...both of you...for giving this old man life. I truly am grateful.” Kirk then went silent and closed his eyes, and Leonhard knew it was time. Rosaria held Kirk tight in a cradle and kissed his forehead. Leonhard pulled out a dagger but before he could unsheathe it, Kirk rasped out.

“Leonhard, promise me one last thing.”

 _Another promise? After this one was so hard by itself? “_ Anything.”

With his last bit of humanity left, Kirk looked at him dead in his green eyes, piercing more than any thorn on his armor hoped to, and said, “No matter what Chelsea says or does, as long as she doesn’t hurt you or Rosaria, _do not hold her in contempt._ ”

Leonhard blinked at him, not sure of what to say. _What on earth did he mean by that?_ _Perhaps the dying widower is giving me early marriage advice?_ Given that he was seconds away from death, his final thoughts were of Leonhard’s and Chelsea’s wellbeing.

 _A true friend_.

“Of course I won’t Kirk.” Kirk then closed his eyes and held still as Leonhard cut his throat. It didn’t take long for him to bleed out, which was ironic given he always caused Bleed with his armor and weapons. Leonhard stood up as Rosaria laid him down against the bars, his corpse shriveling up dry as his armor lay still in a sitting position.

Leonhard walked towards the bed chamber doors, not sure how to process Kirk’s death. He knew he promised so long ago, but it was still hard on him. He didn’t blame Chelsea, either. If anything, he needed her right now, and based on hers and Kirk’s encounter, she should be here any moment.

“Forgive me for my sudden leave, my Lady, but I need a bath.” Rosaria nodded after him before he closed the doors, knowing full well that she also needed time to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was very difficult for me to write simply because of the emotions in it. I wanted to nail it perfectly without going out of character. In the game, Anri and Horace don’t really show much trauma from their lives as children, seeing their friends being eaten by Aldrich, until you either kill Horace (pre-Hollowing) or after Anri loses him in the Catacombs of Carthus. I wanted to...explore that a bit, and I hope that I did well in portraying it. 
> 
> Also, can we talk about Kirk? Kirk was an interesting character to me. Of course as our favorite sunbro says, “Time is convoluted”, so seeing Kirk’s body in Dark Souls and now in Dark Souls 3, I had to figure out a way to connect the two without getting into time travel and quantum physics and all that. Developing his personality was actually rather easy. Out of the fingers, and even in the events of Dark Souls, he always had an “I don’t care about your sob story. Just give me the bottom line and then let me do what I need to do.” kind of vibe. Of course he is human, and he shows emotions, but after the events of Dark Souls and the constant losses against the Chosen Undead, it’s only natural that he would make a scapegoat just so he can live with Quelaan in peace. Now as far as what made him seek another purpose is beyond me, and I actually would love to talk about that either here in the comments or at my tumblr, thesoulsbornewaifu-official. (Follow me btw I need the clout.)
> 
> Next chapter, Leonhard and Chelsea reunite and as you can imagine, they’re gonna have some fun sexy times since they’ve been away from each other for so long. Stay tuned!


	7. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chelsea finally makes it to Rosaria’s bedchamber after the long few weeks of being away, and reunites with Leonhard. After learning about his hatred for the Lords of Cinder, she is hesitant to confess to him about her true nature as a Lord. 
> 
> But for now, she indulges in being in the company of the person that she’s slowly falling in love with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to level with you guys...this chapter is unfinished as I am posting it. Life hasn’t been the most kind to me as of late, and it’s been affecting my mood to the point where I’ve been rather...unmotivated to do anything, regardless if I enjoy it or not.
> 
> I do plan on finishing the chapter. There is a lot more to it. As to when, I don’t know. It’s been a rough two months for me. Hopefully, should my move improve by then, I’ll add more to this entry by the end of this month.
> 
> In the meantime, please enjoy the first part of Chapter 7: Flowers (yes it’s an odd name, but it will be clear as to why it’s called that when I finish up this chapter). Oh and Happy Halloween!

I didn’t know what was more shocking: Finding out Leonhard was a failed Lord of Cinder, or that he hated us for causing his injury. But I knew that after hearing it, I wasn’t sure how to go about continuing our “camaraderie”, or whatever we called it now. I thought about maybe going back to the shrine and just avoiding him, but I knew he would come looking for me, asking for answers as to why I left him behind, and then I’d have to tell him anyway. Not telling him was out of the question. The thought made me feel a twinge of guilt and regret, and despite thinking of different ways to move on without him and not telling him why, I still found myself in front of the doors to Rosaria’s bed chamber.

“Well, it’s now or never,” I said to myself. I can walk away right now, continuing my journey of linking the fire, never seeing Leonhard again. But while I weighed my options in my mind, my body had already opened the doors and walked inside.

The chamber was...a lot bigger than what I imagined. Upon walking inside, I noticed that there were smaller beds lined up on either side of the room.

 _Was this where the Fingers slept?_ , I wondered. Having something rather public didn’t bother me, since I was more than fine with sleeping on the road or in a social place like Firelink Shrine, but I didn’t want to accidentally walk in on someone changing.

Next was the bonfire, which I aptly lit. The warmth healed my wounds and brought me a sense of emotional security, despite my nervousness earlier. I looked around for a bit; admiring the tall candelabras, the carvings in the stone walls, and just the overall architecture. After just a moment, my gaze turned to a large woman sitting on a bed with what I assumed to be one of the maggot worm “things” that I killed outside. It seemed she had been watching me upon my entrance, and a small, welcoming smile curled on her lips when I finally noticed her. I knew who she was when I finally laid eyes on her. She was Rosaria, Captain of Rosaria’s Fingers, the covenant of invaders.

“Ah!” I immediately jumped to my feet, ashamed of my rudeness. “Forgive me, my Lady. I didn’t see you there.” She shook her head, excusing my behavior. No wonder Leonhard served her. She seemed kind and warm. Who wouldn’t want to serve someone that provided such comfort and understanding? She offered me her hands and I took them. I was waiting for her to say something, but a moment passed before anyone made a sound. 

“Oh, I just remembered! Give me a second, I have something for you.” I gently let go of her hands and shifted through my satchel. After shuffling about for a moment, I found what I was looking for: the Pale Tongues I had saved. I had a few so far, one that I found before taking on the Curse-Rotted Greatwood, after defeating a demon with a Catarinian knight (which was a long story in and of itself), the second one was found at the feet of a giant here in the Cathedral, and the rest I had gotten before accepting Leonhard’s invitation to join the covenant. I had wrapped them up in cloth, since they were still both slick with saliva and there was no way I was gonna give them to Rosaria in that state. I handed the packaged tongues to her, and she unwrapped them gently, as if they were gifts. She smiled softly upon seeing them, which I found to be a good sign. She still didn’t say anything, and at this point, I assumed she was mute, and I had gotten comfortable with carrying the conversation.

“Um...Leonhard told me that you would want these. I don’t know what for, but if they show my devotion to you, then I am happy to obli—“ Suddenly, Rosaria tugged me hard towards her much to my shock. At first, I thought I had upset her, but she pulled me onto her lap in a tight embrace.

“My Lady, is everything alright?” I looked up at her after finally settling into her lap and she smiled brightly before threading her fingers in my hair. I didn’t know what she was doing...maybe this was her way of greeting new recruits? It wasn’t long after that I realized she was braiding my hair. 

“Um...” I sat there awkwardly while she braided my hair. I didn’t make me uncomfortable, but it brought back memories of old, back when I was still a mortal, when I lived in Anor Londo with my father. Pleasant memories of when I played with Lord Gwyn’s children while my father was away on his missions. That seemed so long ago...it almost made me sad.

Rosaria patted my shoulder gently, signaling she was done and handed me a hand mirror to take a look at her work. Once I took a look, I gasped. My red lion’s mane was neatly woven into a french braid, decorated with bobby pins and flower clips. It was beautiful, and it also triggered more nostalgia. My hair would always be adorned like this when I was a child. I couldn’t help but tear up a little, but I had to be careful not to let any loose since I had the whole “bloody tears” thing going on.

“Lady Rosaria,” I looked up at her with a thankful smile. “Thank you for doing this for me. I...haven’t had the best of days, and this actually made it better.” Rosaria giggled and hugged me from behind. It felt warm and almost familiar. The kind of embrace that makes my heart nearly jump out of my chest. _Yes...it almost felt like—_

“Chelsea?” My head snapped to the direction of the deep voice calling my name. It had only been a few weeks, but seemed like ages given all that I had gone through. And after all that, despite knowing that he hated the Lords and would probably hate me too, I was so very happy to see him again.

“Leonhard...!” I hopped down off of Rosaria’s bed and ran over to him, nearly tackling him to the ground in a tight hug. “Oh!” He stumbled backwards and chuckled breathlessly from the unexpected embrace. “Well, hello to you, too.”

“Hi,” I sighed into his chest, taking in his scent. He smelled like lavender and soap; did he recently have a bath? Oh Lords, I must have smelled awful, given that I had to go through the swamps of Farron Keep. The idea that I was tainting his tantalizing aroma with mine mixed with blood, sweat, and the rot from Ariandel and Farron made me cringe. But he didn’t seem to mind as he held me tightly.

“It’s been so long...if I didn’t catch word that you were here from Longfinger, I would have thought something happened to you.” Leonhard said as he stood up from hugging me and looked at me from behind the mask. I could tell there was a smile there, but...

“Ah, Kirk...” I felt a knot twist in my belly with guilt. Leonhard mentioned that he was the only other Finger he tolerated, which in his words might even translate to considering him a friend, and I still felt awful about offing him only an hour or so prior to seeing Leonhard again. “Listen, Leonhard, I—“

“It’s not your fault, love,” Leonhard cut me short, “Longfing— I mean, Kirk, has been well on his way to Hollowing for some time now. If anything, you did spark some interest for him. I haven’t seen him eager to fight for a long time.” 

“I see...” I still wasn’t very convinced that he forgave me. I still felt bad, feeling as if though I held some responsibility for his death. And from how I stood there in front of Leonhard, he must have sensed that I still felt that guilt, because he put his hands on my shoulders and looked at me sternly. He was still wearing his mask, and although I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew him well enough to know how he was looking at me. 

“If you really still feel bad about it,” he began, “Then you can make it up to me by providing some comfort.”

“Is that really all that you want?” I whispered. I would do more if he had asked me to. Anything, really, to make up for what I did. 

Leonhard nodded. “I may have promised him a human death, but I still can’t help but feel grief. He was someone I considered a comrade, even though we Fingers don’t partake in camaraderie.”

“Okay...then I’ll try my best to make things up to you.” I said as I kissed his masked cheek, and I could have sworn that I heard a little bashful huff behind the metal. “And you say you don’t believe in camaraderie, but here you are finding every little chance to partake in it with me.”

“What I have with you isn’t camaraderie, love. What we have is something more, at least that’s what I’d like to believe.” Leonhard stood straight and waved to Rosaria, letting her know that we were leaving. I waved too, thanking her again for her generous hospitality. “You could be like Yellowfinger and choose to believe that all Fingers share camaraderie... but don’t force your romance upon the rest of us.”

I snorted. “This is coming from the guy that fucked me senseless upon first meeting me?”

He laughed aloud. It was a hearty sound. It resonated against the walls with a slight baritone, and it caused the inside of my ribcage to vibrate, but I couldn’t tell if it was from the sound or the racing of my heartbeat. “In retrospect, it does seem rather hypocritical. But I do believe I remember saying that I’d make an exception for you.”

“You’ve got a point there.” I looked forward, now having realized that we seemed to be walking aimlessly away from Rosaria’s bedchamber. “So where exactly are we going?”

“Well,” Leonhard replied, “I was thinking that I’d show you to my room.” 

I blinked in surprise. “You have your own rooms here?”

“Sure, why wouldn’t we?” Leonhard led me down a flight of stairs until stopping in front of a wall. There seemed nothing special about it, since it looked like the rest of the interior of the cathedral, until Leonhard waved his arm over it, and the wall disappeared to reveal a door.

“I personally like a little privacy,” he added as he unlocked the door and opened it. He held it open for me as I walked in. It was rather spacious and well-kept. The bed was centered and against the wall, easily a king-sized, if not bigger. To the right was another door to what I assumed was the washroom, and adjacent to that was a large desk with many books and scrolls, some neatly stacked, while others were opened and scattered, all of which were accompanied by a single chair. 

Aside from the desk, everything else was neatly placed. He had bookshelves lining the walls, with even more books shelved neatly in them. His bed was made and only had a few pillows and was covered with a large cotton blanket, a few thick furs, and silken sheets. In the corner of the room opposite of the bed was a small table with two chairs. On it was a small mannequin head with another set of his mask, the hood that covers his face and his hunter cap.

“I didn’t think you had an extra set of these.” I said.

“I had them made as a backup in case they were damaged and that I couldn’t get to a blacksmith in time.” He replied as he took off the mask he was wearing currently. “But given how bonfires also repair your equipment, it’s become more of a decoration than anything else. I should also have a spare set of my clothing lying around somewhere...”

“Ah, okay,” I looked around on his desk, reading the titles of each one. They looked as if though they had all come from different timelines, each in a different condition. Some were tomes, some were scrolls from the times of the Old Ones, but there were even older texts from when the world was far more advanced in their technology, where true mortality reigned and neither the Curse nor magic and monsters existed. 

“Where on earth did you get these?” I held one of them up, titled _The Call of Cthulhu_ by a man named H.P. Lovecraft. 

“I’ve invaded in many places, but that one in particular was found in the ruins of the Duke’s Archives.” Leonhard walked over to me and admired the many books he’s collected.

“The _ruins_ of the Duke’s Archives?” I asked in disbelief. I knew that place so well. How could a place so grandly built have fallen to something as sullen as ruins?

“Mm-hmm.” Leonhard nodded. “It is said that after the death of Seath, the pale drake granted dukedom by Lord Gwyn, the archives were slowly reducing itself to rubble. Eventually, it was all torn down, but I managed to gather some of the books left behind.”

“That’s a shame...,” I responded, rather disappointed. “I really wanted to go back there.” 

“‘Go back?’” Leonhard replied.

“Yeah, I used to visit there all the time, at least the first floor of it, since Seath would run his experimentation up on the upper floors. I wasn’t exactly allowed up there...” 

I looked over at Leonhard, who was looking at me incredulously. He was at a loss for words, and then I realized why. Seath was alive during the first part of the Age of the Gods, before I, or even Lord Gwyn, linked the fire. _Had I accidentally given away that I was a Lord through my constant rambling?_  

“Chelsea...,” Leonhard said quietly. “Just how long have you been...well, alive?”

I swallowed thickly. I had to choose my words carefully. “As an Undead? Since maybe a day or two since I met you. But when I was mortal, I used to live in Anor Londo with my father, alongside Lord Gwyn and his children.” I hated to lie about exactly how long I was Undead for, but Kirk’s warning burned bright in the forefront of my mind.

“It’s been that long...” Leonhard shuddered. “I couldn’t imagine being in a casket for thousands of years, waiting to come back to life.” 

 _Oh, thank the Gods, he didn’t catch on!_ “I was warned about that when I was branded with the Darksign. I didn’t know when I was going to awaken again.” 

“What made you choose to be branded?” Leonhard was curious now, having learned new things about me. 

“Well, for one, my father was against it. He didn’t want me to be branded because I’d be subjected to the Curse.” I began. “But the reason I disobeyed was because the Abyss had broken out in New Londo, and I just couldn’t sit back and watch as my friends in the cavalry died to the Darkwraiths...” I stared off into nothing, remembering the war against the Abyss. I remembered it as if it were yesterday...the corruption had spread everywhere, Darkwraiths draining the life out of everything left and right. It was a wonder how I was able to hold my own in battle for so long. 

“Is that why you’re afraid of them? The Darkwraiths, I mean.” Leonhard asked. 

“Well, that’s a part of it. I’m mainly afraid of them because one killed me.” I said.

“A mortal fighting a Darkwraith?” Leonhard said in disbelief. “Chelsea, I knew you were brave, but that...That definitely takes _recklessness_ to another level.”

 “I managed to kill about twenty of them before that happened.” I replied, full of my ego for a split second.

“That’s...!” Leonhard was now in pure astonishment. “Well, I am glad that I recruited you for the Fingers, if that was your capability as a mere mortal.”

“I thought that, too,” I said softly, now my mood changing. “But even I have my weaknesses. The reason I died was that I thought my father had been slain by one of them, and I blacked out.”

I smiled up at Leonhard sheepishly, who was now looking at me with concern. “When I came to, he was fine. I was relieved, but I had let my guard down. That’s when I got backstabbed by one of them.”

Leonhard looked down. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s fine,” I said gently, taking his gloved hand into mine. “I don’t mind talking about it. My father always taught me not to dwell in the past.” 

“Who was your father, if I may ask?” He asked as he ran his thumb over my hand. 

“You really can’t tell?” I grinned and Leonhard shook his head. “Ornstein the Dragonslayer.” 

“Knight Ornstein...,” Leonhard whispered in awe. “That makes a lot of sense now. You have his crimson hair and golden eyes as depicted in the royal paintings, and your skill with lightning miracles is surely unrivaled, like his.” He held me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Thank you for telling me. I never would have guessed that you were alive during that time, and that you had gone through so much.”

“Trust me, it wasn’t easy,” I wrapped my arms around his and squeezed tightly. “But I am glad that I am here now, with you.” And it was a genuine statement. There was no time nor place I would rather be than here, holding Leonhard like this. I never felt more at peace. 

“I’m glad,” he said as he kissed my temple. “Would you be willing to tell me more?” 

“I would, but um...” I shifted awkwardly. “I feel like I need a bath, right now. You don’t want to know where I’ve been.” 

“You said you were in Farron Keep, but you don’t smell like you’ve been there.” I thought he was saying it in jest, but his expression was very serious. Do bonfires get rid of dirt and grime too? 

“I was there, but I was in far worse places. Besides, given all that I went through these last few weeks, a bath sounds like the perfect cure for stress.” I stepped away from him and stretched. Yeah, now was a good time to relax.

“They are,” Leonhard agreed as he took my hand. “Let me show you the washroom.”

——————


End file.
